Development and Effectiveness Evaluation of a Virtualized Reality Telerehabilitation System for Accessibility Analysis of Built Environment

摘要

The specific aims of this work are as follow: 1) to develop the Virtual Reality Telerehabilitation System (VRTS) which can enable clinicians to assess the wheelchair accessibility of users' homes from a remote location. 2) to investigate the effectiveness of this new accessibility assessment system using Virtual Reality technology and the Telerehabilitation concept as compared to a conventional assessment method. The development of VRTS begins with reliability analysis via data accuracy analysis, camera usability analysis, and a field feasibility test study, and it evolves into the development of algorithms to acquire information and images, make 3D models, and analyze accessibility in virtual environments. A guideline for taking good pictures and a survey form have been developed to collect images and descriptive information for the target environment.A field evaluation is proposed to test whether this new system is comparable to the traditional method of accessibility assessment. In cooperation with a regional architectural firm, three clients requesting an evaluation of accessibility of their houses will be recruited. A target house will be assessed via the Conventional In Person (CIP) method by an architect of the firm and via the VRTS by another architect. A descriptive analysis will be performed to compare the VRTS assessment with the CIP onsite evaluation.