Development of Accessibility in Digital Twins in Virtual Reality for Education: Two Study Cases

Designing Virtual Reality (VR) Digital Twins (DT) for learning requires a balance between pedagogical objectives, immersion, usability, and user experience. VR accessibility demands constant attention due to the visceral nature of the immersive medium. In this session, we present the implementation of accessibility tools in two DT developed at the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts in France. The first DT encompasses the chemistry, agrifood, and pharmacy fields, and has been used by learners for three years. The second DT, currently in a developmental phase and particularly with a scientific research-oriented approach, focuses on airplane aerodynamics. Visual and haptic feedback, subtitles, and audio instructions or customizable interfaces have been gradually incorporated. Through a progressive strategy, we have implemented accessibility user parameters addressing issues such as color blindness, dyslexia, and other impairments. Although development of these DT requires different levels of scripting management, the use of collective intelligence appears pivotal in the implementation of such accessibility devices. Educators also need to be acculturated with the technical aspects of VR to gain confidence in their ability to use it effectively as a transformative educational tool. Lastly, by integrating accessibility features into DT, barriers to learning are reduced, knowledge dissemination is facilitated, and a greater diversity of student profiles becomes possible.