Indoor environments are typically designed and evaluated using visual tools such as floor plans and renderings. However, more than 30 million people in the United States live with some form of vision impairment, and accessibility is often introduced late in the design process.

Virginia Tech researchers have received a $40,000 2026-27 SEAD grant from the university’s Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology and Institute for Advanced Computing to support developing a new immersive technology platform designed to improve accessibility for individuals who are blind or have low vision by allowing them to walk through buildings before they are constructed. Users and designers will be able to evaluate layouts through embodied experience rather than visual inspection alone.

Led by Chang-Tien Lu, professor of computer science and the Sanghani Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics, “VR-ACCESS: Co-Designing Accessible Indoor Environments Using Walking-Based Virtual Reality and AI Navigation,” brings together an interdisciplinary team including co-principal investigators Andrew Gipe-Lazarou, assistant professor in the School of Architecture, and Eiman Elgewely, assistant professor in the School of Design. 

Walking through designs before they are built

“Accessibility is often treated as a checklist after key design decisions are made. By then, meaningful changes can be difficult and costly,” Lu said. “We want to move accessibility to the earliest stages, where it can shape decisions and have the greatest impact.” 

At the core of the project is a walking-based virtual reality platform that maps a participant’s physical movement into a corresponding virtual environment using multi-camera tracking. Users can walk through simulated spaces, interact with navigation cues, and evaluate how different layouts affect accessibility.

The system supports systematic analysis of features such as lighting contrast, landmarks, signage placement, and corridor structure, while also providing a safe environment to test assistive technologies and AI-based navigation tools.

Co-design with the community

Because a central component of the project is direct collaboration with individuals who are blind or have low vision, the project is being conducted in collaboration with community partners that include the Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired and the National Industries for the Blind.

Community partners will help the researchers define scenarios, test navigation strategies, and provide feedback that informs both the technology and design process.

“This is not about designing for people; it’s about designing with them,” said Gipe-Lazarou. “Incorporating lived experience helps create spaces that are more intuitive, safer, and more inclusive, ensuring accessibility is embedded from the earliest stages of design.

The project also engages students across disciplines, providing hands-on experience in human-centered AI and inclusive design. They include Ph.D. students Linhan Wang, computer science;  Ralisa Dawson, science and technology in society; and M. Arch student Freda Hoveyda Marashi. 

From research lab to public experience

Development and testing will take place in Virginia Tech’s Immersive Lab in Academic Building 1 in Alexandria, with a public, walkable virtual reality exhibition planned in The Cube at the Moss Arts Center in Blacksburg.

The exhibition will allow visitors to experience and compare different indoor layouts, highlighting how design choices affect accessibility and navigation.

“By making accessibility visible — and experiential — we hope to inspire new approaches to inclusive design,” Elgewely said. “We aim to help designers and the public better understand how spatial decisions shape real-world navigation and inclusion.”

Advancing inclusive and human-centered AI

The project aims to establish a new framework for integrating artificial intelligence, spatial analytics, and immersive technologies into the design of the built environment. The team plans to publish its findings and pursue future funding to expand the platform.

“Our goal of improving accessibility and rethinking how spaces are designed from the start is all about creating environments that support autonomy, safety, and dignity,” Lu said.