Waterloo doctoral candidate focuses on ways to make virtual reality more accessible

Inclusive research method connects with disability communities for better outcomes

By Dr. Christine Zaza

Disability Inclusion Office

Computer science doctoral candidate Johann Wentzel aims to make virtual reality (VR) more accessible for disabled people.

“Most of my work is in making VR more accessible for people with motor disabilities or impairments by using the input devices they already have rather than potentially inaccessible VR controllers,” Wentzel says. 

For example, Wentzel looks at how to define meaningful VR experiences for someone who only has access to a button switch and a joystick on their power chair.

Under the supervision of Dr. Daniel Vogel, Wentzel researches in the Expressive Input & Interaction (Exii) group within Waterloo’s Human Computer Interaction Research Lab (HCI lab). His experiences in the HCI lab and in work terms at Microsoft and Meta have given Wentzel a wide range of perspectives and influenced his approach to researching accessibility in VR.

Read the full article from Waterloo News to learn more.