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Special Issues
Designing an Inclusive and Accessible Metaverse
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Designing an Inclusive and Accessible Metaverse

A special issue of Multimodal Technologies and Interaction (ISSN 2414-4088).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 June 2024) | Viewed by 7692

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Callum Parker

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Design Lab, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Interests: human-computer interaction (HCI); pervasive displays; virtual reality; augmented reality; accessibility; urban interfaces
Dr. Soojeong Yoo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
UCL Interaction Centre, University College London, London, UK
Interests: human–computer interaction; surgery; digital health; virtual reality; augmented reality
Dr. Joel Fredericks

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Design Lab, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Interests: community engagement; media architecture; human-computer interaction; smart cities; interaction design
Prof. Dr. Youngho Lee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Computer Engineering, Mokpo National University, Muan-gun 58554, Republic of Korea
Interests: ubiquitous virtual reality
Dr. Youngjun Cho

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Computer Science, UCL (University College London), London WC1E 6BT, UK
Interests: computational physiology; affective computing; artificial intelligence; accessible and assistive technology
Prof. Dr. Mark Billinghurst

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. School of Information Technology and Mathematical Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
2. Empathic Computing Laboratory, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
Interests: augmented reality; virtual reality; HCI; empathic computing; bioengineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The push towards a Metaverse is growing, with companies such as Meta developing their own interpretation of what it should look like. The Metaverse at its conceptual core promises to remove boundaries and borders, becoming a decentralised entity for everyone to use—forming a digital virtual layer over our own “real” world. However, the creation of a Metaverse or “new world” presents the opportunity to create one which is inclusive and accessible to all. We invite submissions for our Special Issue that extend the discourse initiated in our recent workshop, "Towards an Inclusive and Accessible Metaverse” at CHI’23. This Special Issue seeks to further explore and expand upon innovative strategies for enhancing accessibility within the Metaverse, methodologies for assessing and improving accessibility, and crucial considerations for designing inclusive environments and interactions. Submissions may include original research articles, case studies, and conceptual papers. Join us in shaping the future of the Metaverse with a focus on unity, diversity, and accessibility. Submit your manuscripts to be a part of this transformative conversation.

Dr. Callum Parker
Dr. Soojeong Yoo
Dr. Joel Fredericks
Prof. Dr. Youngho Lee
Dr. Youngjun Cho
Prof. Dr. Mark Billinghurst
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Multimodal Technologies and Interaction is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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22 pages, 9366 KiB  
Article
Metaverse & Human Digital Twin: Digital Identity, Biometrics, and Privacy in the Future Virtual Worlds
by Pietro Ruiu, Michele Nitti, Virginia Pilloni, Marinella Cadoni, Enrico Grosso and Mauro Fadda
Multimodal Technol. Interact. 2024, 8(6), 48; https://doi.org/10.3390/mti8060048 - 5 Jun 2024
Viewed by 2154
Abstract
Driven by technological advances in various fields (AI, 5G, VR, IoT, etc.) together with the emergence of digital twins technologies (HDT, HAL, BIM, etc.), the Metaverse has attracted growing attention from scientific and industrial communities. This interest is due to its potential impact [...] Read more.
Driven by technological advances in various fields (AI, 5G, VR, IoT, etc.) together with the emergence of digital twins technologies (HDT, HAL, BIM, etc.), the Metaverse has attracted growing attention from scientific and industrial communities. This interest is due to its potential impact on people lives in different sectors such as education or medicine. Specific solutions can also increase inclusiveness of people with disabilities that are an impediment to a fulfilled life. However, security and privacy concerns remain the main obstacles to its development. Particularly, the data involved in the Metaverse can be comprehensive with enough granularity to build a highly detailed digital copy of the real world, including a Human Digital Twin of a person. Existing security countermeasures are largely ineffective and lack adaptability to the specific needs of Metaverse applications. Furthermore, the virtual worlds in a large-scale Metaverse can be highly varied in terms of hardware implementation, communication interfaces, and software, which poses huge interoperability difficulties. This paper aims to analyse the risks and opportunities associated with adopting digital replicas of humans (HDTs) within the Metaverse and the challenges related to managing digital identities in this context. By examining the current technological landscape, we identify several open technological challenges that currently limit the adoption of HDTs and the Metaverse. Additionally, this paper explores a range of promising technologies and methodologies to assess their suitability within the Metaverse context. Finally, two example scenarios are presented in the Medical and Education fields. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Designing an Inclusive and Accessible Metaverse)
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18 pages, 1125 KiB  
Article
Accessible Metaverse: A Theoretical Framework for Accessibility and Inclusion in the Metaverse
by Achraf Othman, Khansa Chemnad, Aboul Ella Hassanien, Ahmed Tlili, Christina Yan Zhang, Dena Al-Thani, Fahriye Altınay, Hajer Chalghoumi, Hend S. Al-Khalifa, Maisa Obeid, Mohamed Jemni, Tawfik Al-Hadhrami and Zehra Altınay
Multimodal Technol. Interact. 2024, 8(3), 21; https://doi.org/10.3390/mti8030021 - 1 Mar 2024
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4566
Abstract
The following article investigates the Metaverse and its potential to bolster digital accessibility for persons with disabilities. Through qualitative analysis, we examine responses from eleven experts in digital accessibility, Metaverse development, disability advocacy, and policy formulation. This exploration uncovers key insights into the [...] Read more.
The following article investigates the Metaverse and its potential to bolster digital accessibility for persons with disabilities. Through qualitative analysis, we examine responses from eleven experts in digital accessibility, Metaverse development, disability advocacy, and policy formulation. This exploration uncovers key insights into the Metaverse’s current state, its inherent principles, and the challenges and opportunities it presents in terms of accessibility. The findings reveal a mixed state of inclusivity within the Metaverse, highlighting significant advancements along with notable gaps, especially in integrating assistive technologies and ensuring interoperability across different virtual environments. This study emphasizes the Metaverse’s potential to revolutionize experiences for individuals with disabilities, provided that accessibility is embedded in its foundational design. Ethical and legal considerations, such as privacy, non-discrimination, and evolving legal frameworks, are identified as critical factors that shape an inclusive Metaverse. We propose a comprehensive framework that emphasizes technological adaptation and innovation, user-centric design, universal access, social and economic considerations, and global standards. This framework aims to guide future research and policy interventions to foster an inclusive digital environment in the Metaverse. This paper contributes to the emerging discourse on the Metaverse and digital accessibility, offering a nuanced understanding of its complexities and a roadmap for future exploration and development. This underscores the necessity of a multi-faceted approach that incorporates technological innovation, user-centered design, ethical considerations, legal compliance, and continuous research to create an inclusive and accessible Metaverse. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Designing an Inclusive and Accessible Metaverse)
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