Assisting Visually Impaired People: Sports and eSports
摘要
Section 10.1: Parasports and accessible esports are advancing quickly as tools and frameworks expand participation among people with disabilities. Parasports originated from postwar rehabilitation at Stoke Mandeville and have grown into global, highly competitive events, including sports for athletes with visual impairments like goalball. Research shows physiological, psychological, and social benefits, which inform evidence-based training. In accessible esports, the growth of gaming platforms and audio-first design has increased opportunities for blind and low-vision players, supported by guidelines, codesign methods, screen readers, adaptive controllers, and accessible mainstream titles. Remaining gaps include localization, discoverability of features, refund policies, and nonvisual navigation challenges. Section 10.2: This section highlights the growing application of eSports in rehabilitation for cognitive, motor, and social benefits, particularly among older adults and individuals with disabilities. In Japan and Western countries, eSports are used for upper limb training, attention enhancement, and balance improvement through virtual reality (VR). Institutions such as the Mayo Clinic support eSports medicine, while Japan integrates universal design devices in care facilities. Despite its benefits, risks such as overuse injuries, sensory overload, and game dependency require careful management. With proper support systems, eSports show promise for future rehabilitation, especially in post-pandemic and disaster recovery settings. Section 10.3: This section surveys parasports for people with visual impairments and the assistive systems that support them. We outline adaptations of mainstream sports (e.g., guide running, tappers, tandem cycling, audible balls) and Paralympic participation, including vision classes (B1–B3) and athlete status categories. We identify three design themes—real-time assistance, performance optimization, and inclusive participation—and present GoalBaural as a case study: a binaural, VR-style trainer that enhanced directional and distance judgments. We then connect to accessible and para eSports, organizing current work into four strands—audio games, exergames, partially accessible mainstream titles, and inclusive co-play—along with tools, authoring environments, and community practices.