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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ImAc (Immersive Accessibility)

Teaser

Summary

Immersive technology could be considered both a burden and a great opportunity for accessibility. Immersive environments (such as virtual reality and omnidirectional video) are often assumed to be of little or no interest for people with disabilities. This position reveals a lack of knowledge of the Human Rights obligations (CRPD) ratified by all EU countries, as well as overlooking the versatility of access service and the resourcefulness and creativity of end-users. Immersive environments exist and they should be accessible for all. During ImAc some test cases will be deployed, showing the available accessibility possibilities and offering real life solutions.

During many previously EU funded projects, accessibility services have been tested to adapt to new technologies such as the switch from analogue to digital broadcast (DTV4ALL) and the new connected media ecosystem (HBB4ALL). The successful deployment of accessibility services by national broadcasters has also proven that is is possible for a common shift in attitudes in the importance of accessibility services. ImAc is seeking the same success story within the new immersive environment adding the expertise from across the ImAc partners in order to provide the tools to enhance immersive video experiences with a full layer of accessibility. To do so, the end-user is placed at the centre of the project, following an user-centric design process, thus integrating the voice of the audience with accessibility needs, the broadcasters that need to distribute such contents and content producers.

ImAc addresses 5 specific objectives:

Objective 1: Create accessible and fully personalised services for all citizens

Objective 2: Deliver novel resources for the broadcasting industry to provide adapted content ensuring accessibility in immersive environments

Objective 3: Demonstrate the tools and platform in open pilots

Objective 4: Work towards standardisation of accessibility data in an immersive content environment

Objective 5: Maximize impact on society delivering real and useful solutions

Work performed

During the first year of the project ImAc has designed and produced the first version of the ImAc platform, being aligned with the objectives of the project and with the view on further developing all the functionalities in the second year. ImAc has delivered a series of editing tools for the handling of subtitles, audio description and sign language accessibility content enrichment. Through the editing platform content producers are capable of enriching existing immersive content and making it accessible. ImAc offers a language agnostic approach, allowing the professional users to define the language of the UI as well as the language used within the content itself. Furthermore, ImAc has developed the necessary network delivery processes as well as the metadata model describing the content structure. On the rendering end the Player component has been developed incorporating all the design decisions elicited form focus group sessions involving end-users.

On the side of dissemination ImAc has had a significant contribution to standardization bodies discussions and meetings, participated in numerous conferences and workshops and showcased the results in exhibitions and commercial fairs. There was also 4 paper publications and 9 submissions pending approval.

Final results

During the first year of the project we noticed that ImAc is getting the attention from broadcaster organizations in the field of immersive media. The participation in dissemination activities showed that the area of accessibility content enrichments for immersive content is an upcoming and currently not extensively commercialized sector. ImAc during the first year was approached by RYOT, a US-based immersive content broadcaster, in order to further examine and test the platform of accessibility content production. Moreover, ImAc has generated a relevant impact in various standardization groups and it iat the forefront of the development of accesibility requirements for the XR sector.