Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality Network

"Presence is affected by deficits in cognition and perception. It is thought to be associated with a preference for the visual domain, but has been not been extensively studied in those without sight. Audio description (Ad) is a verbal commentary conveying visual information, enabling blind and partially sighted people to access visual media. Ad is currently only provided for low-immersion media, e.g., films. this project compared levels of presence for the same film clip watched with no Ad, “standard” Ad (describing characters, locations and actions) and a “cinematic” Ad, which also includes details of camera shots. surprisingly, those with impaired sight reported higher presence levels when watching the stimuli with Ad, than sighted people watching the stimulus with no Ad. engagement scores reported by blind and partially sighted people for cinematic Ad were highest overall. this suggests the need to revisit Ad guidelines, which currently advise Ad providers not to include filmic terms. It also suggests Ad has potential for people who are blind or partially sighted to engage in more immersive Virtual reality (Vr) environments."