WUAD (Wheelchair User Assisted Design): A VR-Based Strategy to Make Buildings More Accessible
Accessibility regulations towards building design and public places are more restrictive than in past years. Along with energy efficiency, accessibility is one of the pillars of an optimal building design. However, even buildings adapted for actual regulations are not always optimal, and there is st...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/17/8486 |
| _version_ | 1797496537709805568 |
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| author | Emiliano Pérez Alejandro Espacio Santiago Salamanca Pilar Merchán |
| author_facet | Emiliano Pérez Alejandro Espacio Santiago Salamanca Pilar Merchán |
| author_sort | Emiliano Pérez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Accessibility regulations towards building design and public places are more restrictive than in past years. Along with energy efficiency, accessibility is one of the pillars of an optimal building design. However, even buildings adapted for actual regulations are not always optimal, and there is still much to do to avoid adding more difficulties for people with disabilities. We proposed a wheelchair-user-assisted design methodology based on iterative bidirectional communication between a wheelchair simulator user and the building designer to reach the optimum specifications for an accessibility-friendly design. First-hand experience may be crucial to detect obstacles hardly noticeable to people with no impairments. To this end, VR technology was employed along with the mentioned wheelchair simulator to show the advantages of this kind of device when working on real-life experiences. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:05:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d4437cd2242142168aafe0a7257b157a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:05:05Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-d4437cd2242142168aafe0a7257b157a2023-11-23T12:40:24ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172022-08-011217848610.3390/app12178486WUAD (Wheelchair User Assisted Design): A VR-Based Strategy to Make Buildings More AccessibleEmiliano Pérez0Alejandro Espacio1Santiago Salamanca2Pilar Merchán3Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y Automática, Escuela de Ingenierías Industriales, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. De Elvas s/n, 06006 Badajoz, SpainDepartamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y Automática, Escuela de Ingenierías Industriales, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. De Elvas s/n, 06006 Badajoz, SpainDepartamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y Automática, Escuela de Ingenierías Industriales, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. De Elvas s/n, 06006 Badajoz, SpainDepartamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y Automática, Escuela de Ingenierías Industriales, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. De Elvas s/n, 06006 Badajoz, SpainAccessibility regulations towards building design and public places are more restrictive than in past years. Along with energy efficiency, accessibility is one of the pillars of an optimal building design. However, even buildings adapted for actual regulations are not always optimal, and there is still much to do to avoid adding more difficulties for people with disabilities. We proposed a wheelchair-user-assisted design methodology based on iterative bidirectional communication between a wheelchair simulator user and the building designer to reach the optimum specifications for an accessibility-friendly design. First-hand experience may be crucial to detect obstacles hardly noticeable to people with no impairments. To this end, VR technology was employed along with the mentioned wheelchair simulator to show the advantages of this kind of device when working on real-life experiences.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/17/8486virtual realitybuilding designevaluation of buildingaccessibilityengineeringarchitecture |
| spellingShingle | Emiliano Pérez Alejandro Espacio Santiago Salamanca Pilar Merchán WUAD (Wheelchair User Assisted Design): A VR-Based Strategy to Make Buildings More Accessible Applied Sciences virtual reality building design evaluation of building accessibility engineering architecture |
| title | WUAD (Wheelchair User Assisted Design): A VR-Based Strategy to Make Buildings More Accessible |
| title_full | WUAD (Wheelchair User Assisted Design): A VR-Based Strategy to Make Buildings More Accessible |
| title_fullStr | WUAD (Wheelchair User Assisted Design): A VR-Based Strategy to Make Buildings More Accessible |
| title_full_unstemmed | WUAD (Wheelchair User Assisted Design): A VR-Based Strategy to Make Buildings More Accessible |
| title_short | WUAD (Wheelchair User Assisted Design): A VR-Based Strategy to Make Buildings More Accessible |
| title_sort | wuad wheelchair user assisted design a vr based strategy to make buildings more accessible |
| topic | virtual reality building design evaluation of building accessibility engineering architecture |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/17/8486 |
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