Edito⎜XR, accessibility and inclusion: a world that’s too virtual?

(This article was originaly published in French) If accessibility, enshrined in French law, is everyone’s business, what is it like in the world of XR?

Embracing the themes of accessibility and inclusion brings to light a wide range of issues, so vast is the subject. From strategic thinking and concept definition to the distribution of an XR work, not forgetting the choice of technology, there are so many subjects that we can consider through the prism of accessibility and inclusion.

Today, augmented or virtual reality has taken over many areas of society. Medicine and healthcare in general are among them. Since 2020, an Augmented Reality Chair (BOPA) has even been created at the Paul-Brousse Hospital (AP-HP). Supported by the AP-HP, the Institut Mines-Telecom and the Université Paris-Saclay, this chair aims to increase and transform human capacities by using technologies that are several decades old to put them at the service of humans. In addition to medical training, these technological advances are also intended to help rehabilitate patients and make them more autonomous.

The same technology can therefore be used for both artistic and scientific creations. The same tool, the same know-how, but different objectives. Nothing to see? And yet.

At the latest edition of the NewImages Festival at the Forum des Images, which took place from April 24 to 28, 2024, we were able to discover or rediscover works featuring victims of school bullying, racism, genocide, a person suffering from aphasia following a stroke. Similarly, VR experiences were presented this summer at the Club France des Jeux Olympiques et Paralympiques, enabling the public to try their hand at wheelchair racing, for example. Circumstances that can lead to temporary or permanent disability.

If the situation of disability can be the subject of a narrative and raise awareness, can it be the subject of a reflection to make the same works accessible? Can the immersive be a vector of inclusion?

Semantic reminder

Remember that 80% of disabilities are invisible. An “able-bodied” person may be temporarily disabled when faced with an environment that does not allow them to exercise their abilities or meet their needs.

Let’s pause for a moment on the notion of disability, which is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2015): “Disability is not simply a health problem. It is a complex phenomenon that arises from the interaction between a person’s bodily characteristics and the characteristics of the society in which they live. To overcome the difficulties faced by people with disabilities, interventions aimed at removing environmental and social barriers are necessary”. The WHO has thus introduced a societal dimension in addition to the medical aspect. It should be noted that one person in six worldwide suffers from a significant disability. And because figures sometimes speak louder than words (or ills), it is 15 times more difficult for a disabled person than others to access transport.

In French law, Article 2 of the February 11, 2005 law on equal rights and opportunities states that “a handicap (…) is any limitation of activity or restriction of participation in life in society suffered in its environment by a person because of a substantial, lasting or permanent impairment of one or more physical, sensory, mental, cognitive or psychic functions, a polyhandicap or a disabling health disorder”.

Article 41 of the same law stipulates that accessibility is due “to all, and in particular to disabled people, whatever the type of disability, notably physical, sensory, cognitive, mental or psychological”.

What do we mean when we talk about accessibility?

Let’s go back to the source, the dictionary. Le Robert defines accessibility as “the possibility of accessing, arriving at”. To reach or access someone or something, we might add. This general notion concerns every individual, since each of us may or may not always be able to access what we want.

Although this definition does not specify obstacles or hindrances, when the legislator took up the subject, he initially focused on people with disabilities. The law of February 11, 2005 defines the obligation of accessibility in the chain of movements that is required in the ordinary course of community life. This applies to buildings (notably housing and establishments open to the public), roads, public spaces, transport, means of communication, the exercise of citizenship and public services (notably cultural).

As this legislation has shown its limitations, and because the scope of people concerned has been widened to include the elderly, sick or injured, women at the end of pregnancy, but also families with strollers, travelers laden with luggage, …, the Government opened a major consultation on the subject in 2013. National conferences on disability (CNH) and inter-ministerial committees on disability (CIH) have multiplied. All this led to a new law on July 10, 2014 reactivating legal obligations and giving a new timetable.

To complete the context, let’s also shed some light on the very notion of handicap as defined in French law. Article L114 of the French Code de l’action sociale et des familles defines disability as “any limitation of activity or restriction of participation in life in society suffered in its environment by a person because of a substantial, lasting or permanent impairment of one or more physical, sensory, mental, cognitive or psychic functions, a multiple disability or a disabling health disorder”. The environmental aspect is therefore essential to this definition. Articles L114-1 and 114-2 refer to the right of people with disabilities to solidarity and to their fundamental rights, like any other citizen,

Accessibility is understood as the legal obligation that enables anyone to access a place, service or facility without discrimination.

Edito (IN FRENCH)⎜Le festival Palais augmenté, pour quel(s) public(s) ?

Let’s now put the notion of accessibility into perspective with that of inclusion.

To make something accessible, you need to recognize the specific characteristics of each population, each audience, their needs and their diversity. This means taking the time to analyze your audience in all its components and particularities. Aren’t we already doing this? Probably not enough, if we are to believe the need for legislation or the still very large number of criteria in the general accessibility improvement reference framework.

According to sociologist Antoine Pritz, “inclusion refers to an individual’s ability to participate in a social sphere, a place, a collective. In this sense, an inclusive society, an inclusive institution or an inclusive practice puts things in place so as not to leave individuals excluded.” (Le Monde, L’inclusion, une porte ouverte sur les entraves et les hiérarchies sociales, Marion Dupont, September 20, 2023).

Accessibility and inclusion are two sides of the same coin. Whereas accessibility undoubtedly relates more to the field of problems raised, solutions provided and therefore tools implemented, inclusion relates, more globally, to a project for society.

Are there any exceptions to accessibility?

Every rule has its exceptions. As the saying goes, the exception proves the rule.

Let’s turn to the philosophers. In his Pensées, Pascal warns us against resorting to the exception. His reasoning is quite simple. Wouldn’t the debate that the exception gives rise to be rather whether or not it would invalidate the rule as a universal rule, applying everywhere and always? By admitting an exception, wouldn’t we be accepting that the rule does not apply to everyone here and now? Once universality has been abandoned, everyone can find a legitimate reason to justify that, where they don’t believe or don’t want it to apply, it doesn’t in fact apply. Wouldn’t admitting the exception allow everyone to find an excuse to deviate from… the rule?

Can the XR sector position itself as a major player for an inclusive society?

As our articles progress, we’ll be interrogating the XR experiences themselves to see whether or not they are accessible. If they are, perhaps they are from one point of view, but not from another. If an experience is not accessible to all, which audience is excluded, and for what reason(s)?

Faced with the variety of immersive technologies available, the choice made between VR, AR, XR have an impact on the nature of the experience, let’s ask ourselves if this also has an impact on the accessibility of a creation?

We’ll be looking at the criteria used by exhibiting institutions to curate XR works. Is accessibility a criterion for selecting a creation?

In fact, is accessibility a criterion considered at the strategic thinking stage; is it worked on during the design-build of an XR experience so that it is accessible to as many people as possible?

Does an immersive experience have to be accessible?

These are just some of the topics we’ll be covering in various articles on XRMust.