The Effects of Simulated Low Vision on Perceived Action Capabilities in Virtual Reality

The use of virtual reality (VR) has become widespread, and ensuring accessibility to VR is critical for the technology to be inclusive. However, most VR technology relies heavily on visual input for navigation, interaction, and feedback, which makes the VR less accessible for individuals with low vision, a prevalent global health condition. In this study, we developed a virtual, gaze-contingent simulation of central vision loss (CVL) and peripheral vision loss (PVL) in a head-mounted display. We examined how these two types of restricted visual input affected people’s perception of an affordance that is highly related to independent mobility, specifically the perceived ability to step over a virtual gap. In two experiments, participants judged whether they could step over virtual gaps under no vision loss and CVL (Exp 1) or PVL (Exp 2) conditions. Across both experiments, the vision loss conditions showed increases in decision-making time and reduced confidence in judgments compared to no vision loss. Results showed no significant difference in affordance judgments for stepping over for the CVL and no vision loss conditions, suggesting that residual peripheral vision may compensate for central deficits. But participants in the PVL condition underestimated their ability to step over gaps relative to no vision loss. This effect may have been due to an inability to integrate multiple views of the gap in order to make judgments. These findings demonstrate that different types of vision loss differentially impact perception-action coupling in virtual reality and underscore the importance of VR systems that consider sensory loss. Our approach offers a framework for understanding visual accessibility in immersive environments and highlights the potential of low vision simulation for future perception-action research.