The RAD: Making Racing Games Equivalently Accessible to People Who Are Blind

We introduce the racing auditory display (RAD), an audiobased user interface that allows players who are blind to play the same types of racing games that sighted players can play with an efficiency and sense of control that are similar to what sighted players have. The RAD works with a standard pair of headphones and comprises two novel sonification techniques: the sound slider for understanding a car’s speed and trajectory on a racetrack and the turn indicator system for alerting players of the direction, sharpness, length, and timing of upcoming turns. In a user study with 15 participants (3 blind; the rest blindfolded and analyzed separately), we found that players preferred the RAD’s interface over that of Mach 1, a popular blind-accessible racing game. We also found that the RAD allows an avid gamer who is blind to race as well on a complex racetrack as casual sighted players can, without a significant difference between lap times or driving paths. ACM Classification