Anikto LLC

“Virtual Worlds” Presentation at Interaction10

Next weekend I’ll be speaking at the Interaction10 conference in Savannah GA, hosted by the Interaction Design Association (IxDA) at the Savannah College of Art and Design. This is the third annual conference hosted by IxDA, whose mission is to educate, inspire and connect professionals working in disciplines related to interaction design and user experience.

I’ll be speaking about the use of multi-user virtual environments among people with disabilities, citing current trends in immersive technology and the ways in which users engage with each other in-world. Full description as follows:

The Use of Virtual Worlds Among People with Disabilities

Time and Date: 11:30 am Sunday February 7, 2010

Location: IxDA Interaction10 Conference
Savannah College of Art and Design
Reynolds Square
342 Bull Street
Savannah, GA 31402

Description: With their emphasis on 3D graphics and complex interface controls, it would appear that gaming interfaces and virtual worlds have little to offer people with disabilities. On the contrary, virtual worlds serve as a form of augmented reality where users transcend physiological or cognitive challenges to great social and therapeutic benefit. A number of intriguing developments exist within the accessibility sector: haptic input devices for the blind, virtual regions developed according to Universal Design principles, communities dedicated to people with cognitive disorders, the use of the avatar as counsellor, applications in higher education, and customizable personae that either transcend or represent a disabled person’s self-identity.

Biography: Kel Smith’s publications have been cited by the Pentagon Library, Kent State’s Knowledge Management Program and the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. He is a frequent speaker who presented at the CSUN 2009 Los Angeles Conference for Persons with Disabilities, the TechShare RNIB Conference in London, and St. Joseph’s University Center for Consumer Research in 2009. Kel is a confirmed 2010 speaker for the CSUN10 conference in San Diego, where he will present on the topic of universally designed virtual worlds. A current member of the Interaction Design Association (IxDA) and the Usability Professionals’ Association (UPA), Kel serves as Vice Chair of the Philadelphia chapter of ACM/SIG-CHI for computer-human interaction. He earned his BFA in photography from the Maryland Institute College of Art and studied cognitive science as part of the MS program at Philadelphia University.