DIYA by Vision-Aid

One familiar place. Many ways of seeing.

DIYA stands for Disability Immersion for Your Awareness. In Hindi, a diya is a lamp. By exploring a familiar street, we can better understand barriers—and the practical changes that help people take part.

The project is shaped by visually impaired contributors and volunteer eye-care and rehabilitation specialists. Their central advice is simple: give people time to explore, then connect each challenge to useful support.

Begin on the sidewalk

  1. Find the library and park sign, the crossing signal and the direction traffic is coming from. Take as long as you need to look around.
  2. With central field loss, try reading the sign. Change the affected area, then compare the larger lettering and stronger contrast while that same view is active.
  3. With peripheral field loss, turn your head to find traffic and the crossing signal. Request the crossing and listen for the audible indication. Notice which information reaches you through sound.

You can complete the guided visit seated on the virtual sidewalk. Pause or return to clear view whenever you like. Afterward, you can explore patchy vision and choose how dark the affected regions look. Complete darkness is a separate opt-in experience.

Explore ten views

Reference and perception

Clear view; blindness and visual perception, progressing from a grey veil to the no-light-perception illustration.

Visual fields

Central field loss; peripheral field loss; localised and patchy field loss.

Clarity and light

Hazy vision, using cataract as an example; reduced contrast and dim light.

Combined changes

Peripheral field loss with haze; central field loss with patchy interruptions.

Colour differences

A red-green colour-vision illustration using the published Machado model. Words and shapes provide information beyond colour alone.

Field area and haze have separate controls. In the combined peripheral-loss-and-haze view, reducing haze leaves the field loss in place. Brightness, contrast and effect intensity invite comparison at your own pace.

What can make this street more accessible?

  1. Readable signs: larger lettering and stronger contrast help important information stand out.
  2. Accessible crossing information: a button confirms a crossing request; the walk indication comes later. Speech, sound and physical tactile signal hardware provide additional ways to receive information.
  3. A clear route: a flush curb ramp and unobstructed approach make the crossing easier to find and use.

The flush ramp and clear approach are present in both views. The adaptations control changes the sign and adds audible crossing information; it does not rebuild the pavement.

Magnification, rehabilitation and appropriate eye care address different needs. Cataract surgery treats the cloudy lens; it does not remove an unrelated field loss. Accessible places work alongside individual support.

How to interpret the experience

These are educational illustrations, not a diagnosis or a reproduction of every person's experience. Grey or dark overlays are teaching devices. Haze uses a contrast-reducing veil rather than a calibrated optical model.

Quest 3 and 3S do not track eye gaze: field effects follow head direction. Controls remain clear so you can change or end an effect. Bare-hand tracking cannot produce a vibration; the tactile example refers to physical pedestrian-signal hardware. This is an exploration of information, not real-world crossing training.

Four future settings

Restaurant, grocery store, classroom and playground cards introduce planned future modules. You can read about each plan and return to the street. They are not playable scenes in this release.

Optional background film

This 1 minute 45 second excerpt from the V9 visitor film introduces vision impairment and Vision-Aid. It is a separate educational illustration, not a recording of the playable app or a 360-degree video.

Read the film transcript

About Vision-Aid

Founded in Massachusetts, USA, in 2004, Vision-Aid works to enable, educate and empower people with visual impairments. The organisation brings lived experience and volunteer expertise to DIYA.