Towards Accessible Mixed Reality in the Museum. Usability Principles for Disadvantaged Visitors and a Feasibility Evaluation for a New MR System

The ongoing MiRA project consists of an interactive system based on a perspective illusion that can virtually complete exhibited artifacts, providing a Mixed Reality experience without the use of head-mounted devices (HMDs). This paper explores the possibilities of adapting such an interaction paradigm to the needs of users with special needs who do not conform to social standards. The accessibility of museums, websites, and user interfaces has received a lot of attention. However, because there has been little or no research on the accessibility of interactive museum installations, this contribution is a useful source of information about how to approach XR. Mixed research methods have been used, from qualitative methods in the system design phase to quantitative methods in the MR field for usability and accessibility. A total of 50 studies on accessibility and social inclusion were selected, in both museum and extended reality contexts, identifying three intervention categories: disabled, elderly, and neurodivergent people. Furthermore, the research revealed a series of accessibility guidelines that were applied to the current project to identify areas for improvement. Although the MiRA's use of a depth camera and projections suggested an approachable interaction for any type of visitor, this study discovered gaps in its accessibility. To make the proposed system of interactive museum projections accessible to visitors with specific needs, rules extrapolated from the fields of accessibility in museums, video games, and user interfaces were applied. The observations made in this study will be implemented in future work for a more accessible service.