VR Soft Skills Blog | Bodyswaps

Bodyswaps' accessibility updates

Written by Georgia Read | Sep 30, 2024 9:42:54 AM
As part of our mission to make Bodyswaps accessible to more learners, our team has been hard at work to implement a range of new features in our app and across our customer portal. 

Accessibility in our VR app

Speech control

When this option is turned on, all aspects of the app can be controlled via voice and speech, rather than physical controls.

Volume adjustments

The volume levels of voices, environmental noises, and sound effects (including background music) can be changed and adjusted to the learner’s requirements or preferences.

 

 

Photosensitivity mode

Turning on this mode will turn off all flashing lights in our app, such as the body-swap sequence, to make sure those with photosensitivity can safely use Bodyswaps.

Mobility mode

This option allows you to disable any analytics which relate to the movement of the head or hands in a VR headset.

 

 

TV focus

Learners can now open a popup for any information that is presented on virtual displays in the modules, such as our TV screens, for increased legibility and understanding.

VR safe space

At any point, if the scenario becomes overwhelming, users will have the ability to quickly transport to a virtual safe space, removed from the scenario, where they can take as much time as they like to decompress.

 

Accessibility on our mobile and PC app

Keyboard navigation

Rather than needing to rely on a traditional cursor and mouse, learners can now use keyboard shortcuts to navigate the Bodyswaps app user interface.

Screen readers

We are compatible with screen readers! They can be used in combination with our keyboard navigation feature to read out the focused UI element, making navigation accessible for many learners.

Accessibility on all our platforms

All our modules are captioned, and we’ve also introduced several improvements to enhance their accessibility.

We’ve added the option to add a background colour to captions, for increased colour contrast. 

Captions are also adjustable in size, up to 200%. And spoken lines can have the name of the avatar prefixed, to ensure clarity of who’s speaking when.

We’re always on the lookout for how we can enhance our accessibility offerings, please do let us know if you have any recommendations.