Nearmi: A Framework for Designing Point of Interest Techniques for VR Users with Limited Mobility
Rachel Franz, Samantha Hornback, Diva Jayasinghe, Jolie Auricchio, John Porter III, John Googleddy, Kristen Shinohara · 2021 · ASSETS '21: The 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility · doi:10.1145/3441852.3471230
Summary
Virtual reality presents significant accessibility barriers for people with limited mobility, yet relatively little research has addressed how to make VR navigation and exploration usable for this population. Franz et al. introduce Nearmi, a design framework specifically targeting point of interest (POI) techniques — the mechanisms by which VR users identify, select, and navigate to objects or locations of interest in virtual environments. The framework decomposes POI techniques into four configurable components: representation (how the POI is visually depicted, via mesh miniatures or portal-view windows), display (how POI icons are positioned, either attached to the source object or floating freely), selection (how users choose a POI, via tap, ray-cast, wand, or console methods), and transition (how the camera moves to the selected location, using continuous, discrete, or instant movement). These four components with their eleven total implementation variants yield 48 possible POI technique combinations, creating a rich design space for accessible interaction. The researchers conducted a video elicitation study with 17 participants who have limited mobility due to conditions including muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, quadriplegia, spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, and arthritis. Participants viewed video demonstrations of each component implementation and selected their preferred combination. The study was conducted remotely during COVID-19, which limited hands-on evaluation but still provided valuable preference and reasoning data from the target user population.
Key findings
Participants collectively identified 13 unique preferred Nearmi combinations out of 48 possible, underscoring the diversity of needs within the limited mobility community and the critical importance of customizability. Fifteen of 17 participants reported difficulty turning their heads or bodies while using VR, citing wheelchair headrests blocking movement, heavy headsets causing neck strain, spasms, and limited arm control. Participants consistently weighed trade-offs between accessibility and realism — those who prioritized ease of use gravitated toward console selection (least arm movement required) and attached-to-object displays (easier to see and reach), while those valuing immersion preferred ray-cast selection and floating displays. The continuous transition was most popular for maintaining spatial awareness, though some preferred instant transitions for speed and comfort. Crucially, participants noted that component interactions matter: certain display-selection combinations created emergent accessibility issues not apparent from individual components alone. For example, the floating display with tap selection was inaccessible for those who cannot perform reaching movements. All participants expressed interest in using Nearmi in real VR scenarios including games, environment exploration, and 360-degree videos.
Relevance
This paper makes a significant contribution to VR accessibility by providing a structured, modular framework that developers can use to create customizable navigation experiences for users with limited mobility. The key practical takeaway is that no single POI technique works for everyone — even within the limited mobility community, individual abilities, preferences, and the nature of specific impairments lead to widely different optimal configurations. This argues strongly for building customization into VR experiences from the ground up rather than implementing a single "accessible mode." The framework approach is transferable: developers and designers can apply the Nearmi component model to systematically evaluate accessibility trade-offs in their own VR applications. The study also highlights that accessibility evaluation criteria for VR differ from traditional usability metrics, requiring consideration of factors like spatial awareness, physical comfort, and the unique value proposition of immersive experiences alongside standard ease-of-use measures.
Tags: virtual reality · VR accessibility · limited mobility · motor impairments · point of interest · interaction design · customization · assistive technology