Page 32 - ITU Journal, ICT Discoveries, Volume 3, No. 1, June 2020 Special issue: The future of video and immersive media

ITU Journal: ICT Discoveries, Vol. 3(1), June 2020

growing interest in, and adoption of, VR360 factors like disabilities, ageing and capabilities
experiences, research studies on, and thus solutions (e.g., skills) influence the interaction and
for, accessibility in immersive media are limited so engagement with immersive technologies and
far. This hinders the interaction of a significant experiences.
percentage of the population with VR experiences.
The study in [1] provides statistics about the
Everyone has the right to access and comprehend percentages of the worldwide population with
the information provided by media services in some form of audiovisual impairment, and about
general, and by immersive experiences in particular. the increasing ageing process. Ageing is closely
Therefore, accessibility becomes a priority, not only related to disability rates, as older people may
to adhere to current worldwide regulations, but develop age-related impairments, such as visual,
also to reach a wider audience and contribute to hearing, physical and cognitive ones [1].
equal opportunities and global e-inclusion. Disabilities, sensorial impairments and ageing have
Immersive experiences need to be inclusive across functional, social, emotional and economic impacts.
different languages, addressing not only the needs This involves a barrier to properly access and
of consumers with hearing and vision impairments, interpret the information, which is a right of all
but also of those with cognitive and/or learning citizens, in all sectors and services. In addition,
difficulties, low literacy, newcomers, and the aged. linguistic and cultural capabilities need to be also
Accessibility in immersive media is the research taken into account. Society has become global, and
topic addressed in this article, with a particular people commonly travel or move to different
focus on the broadcast sector, and on achieving a countries for professional and/or leisure reasons,
seamless integration between the presentation of so language and culture may also become a barrier.
access services (subtitling, audio description and
sign language) and VR360 content (360° videos and All these factors have an impact in the media
spatial audio). accessibility field, which has traditionally mostly
focused on an audience with disabilities, but now
As a proof of relevance of this topic, the paper there is a need to take into account other audiences,
initially highlights its societal impact, by reflecting such as the elderly, non-native speakers, illiteracy,
on the need for providing accessible media services etc., to enable a full democratic participation in the
and by outlining the regulatory framework that current society where technologies and media play
aims to guarantee the accessibility of every a key role. E-inclusion thus becomes a priority of
multimedia service, and monitor the fulfillment of worldwide governments, and this is also the case in
these demands and obligations. After that, the paper the EU, as proposed by the Single Digital Market
discusses advances, limitations and challenges (SDM) strategy that aims to guarantee a seamless
towards making immersive media accessible, with a exchange of media assets across countries and
special focus on the broadcast sector. Finally, the communities. Likewise, the United Nations Centre
paper presents novel contributions from initiatives for Regional Development (UNCRD) [3] provides a
in this direction, in terms of technological solutions framework for action in a number of articles
(end-to-end platform, extensions to current highlighting the interrelations between ageing and
technologies and formats, interaction modalities) disability, especially in article 9 (accessibility).
and recommendations (presentation modes,
guiding methods, evaluation methodologies). In this context, two important United Nations (UN)
Although these contributions are mostly focused on conventions have legal repercussions within the
the broadcast sector, their applicability spans other scope of media accessibility. The Convention on the
sectors (e.g., learning, culture and heritage [1]), and Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of
can pave the way for next-generation accessible VR Cultural Expressions [4] identified the elderly as an
experiences, with six Degrees-of-Freedom (6DoF), audience sector to be protected against exclusion.
like gaming and virtual meetings. This is further expanded in the Convention of Rights
of Persons with Disabilities [5], since the elderly
2. SOCIETAL IMPACT may not be classified as disabled, but are the highest
number of citizens with hearing and/or sight loss.
Technological advances typically provide These two UN conventions have been developed in
significant social and financial benefits, but may two Directives and one Act affecting all EU countries:
also raise barriers for some citizens. No
homogeneous profiles for consumers exist, and

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