QUALILIFE SOFTWARE ADDS VR OPTION
by Michelle Bienias
QualiLife, a Swiss company that develops devices and systems to help people with disabilities achieve greater independence within their environments, has formed a joint venture with FullscreenQTVR , the recently launched website directory of fullscreen 360-degree panorama photography. QualiVR is based on the award winning QuickTime VR technology by Apple Computer and enables the rendering of full screen virtual reality movies in an easy to use interface, optimized for people with severe physical disabilities. VRWAY’s Research and Development team and Hans Nyberg, of panoramas.dk, have been working with QualiLife engineers to develop a new module for the QualiWorld application – QualiVR. QualiVR will better enable people with mobility impairment to participate with QTVR interactive photography. This special VR viewer application will be directly implemented into the QualiWorld software, enabling virtual travel for broadband, offline and low bandwidth environments. QualiVR will link exclusively to FullscreenQTVR.com and a number of QTVR movies will be "embedded" into the application for demonstration purposes and in order to allow offline browsing. In anticipation of the QualiVR release, FullscreenQTVR.com has also designed a new homepage layout. QualiWorld is a comprehensive software platform enabling anyone with physical or speech difficulties to access any kind of communication technology. It is ideal for the disabled or elderly, allowing them to achieve a higher level of performance and greater independence. It is a Windows compatible software platform that manages over a dozen solution/access specific programs, which all work together. Applications are tailored to overcome barriers to electronic technology for people of any age or disability. The system can be managed by any kind of switch, very slight body movements or even voice commands and dictation, allowing daily tasks - like letter writing, verbal communication, email, phoning, faxing and surfing the Internet – to be performed, all in one software solution. QualiLife has established professional collaborations with important research centers, National Health Care Institutions and hi-tech companies worldwide, such as Microsoft, Dell Computer and Cisco Systems, amongst many others. In 2003, QualiWorld won the Well-Tech Award for The Best Product in the Accessibility Section. The partnership with Qualilife is of utmost importance for two reasons:
- Qualilife, VRWAY and all contributing photographers will bring a new opportunity to explore the world to those with severe physical disabilities.
- It will open the door to a potentially huge new audience for the photographic virtual reality industry; namely, the ‘third age’ – a group comprised of seniors and/or retirees, many of whom have age-related disabilities. The "Extreme Experience Fullscreen" directory has been created to test the QualiVR prototype in hospitals and clinics in order to optimize the usability based on real user behavior and feedback. The feedback QualiLife is currently collecting is extremely positive and encouraging. If you would like to participate in this project, please email Marco Trezzini:3z[at]webidentity[dot]com or Hans Nyberg: hans[at]nyberg[dot]com.
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