Telefónica and ONCE join forces to create immersive experiences accessible

Telefónica and ONCE join forces with the common goal of collaborating to build more accessible immersive experiences for visually impaired people in Telefónica’s products and services that use this type of technology.

Telefónica and ONCE will collaborate to bring accessibility closer to the methodology for the construction of products and services, as well as in the lines of research carried out by the telco’s Web3 and metaverse area.

The lines of work will focus on three areas. The first will consist of trying to make Movista r Immersive Experience more accessible, a virtual world that offers a new way of interacting with the Movistar world where users can play games, access unprecedented audiovisual content or learn about Telefónica products and services. Through real users who will be able to test the experiences, direct feedback will be obtained to improve the value proposition around the accessibility of immersive experiences.

Another area of collaboration will focus on accessibility in virtual reality (VR) experiences, researching to understand the user experience of people with blindness and low vision, their needs and limitations when using VR services and products. In this context, more inclusive and accessible profiles will be included, design principles will be incorporated to create more inclusive experiences or accessibility workshops will be organised to include people with visual impairment from the creation of the product or service, among other initiatives.

The application of artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver more accessible experiences will represent the third avenue of collaboration. AI is a source of support to bring accessibility closer to the immersive experience and to address issues such as facilitating communication, mobility and access to information for people with disabilities. Through tools such as the development of AI-based technology for automatic visual description, interaction with three-dimensional images and video sequences or the description of image segments and interaction with visual questions, access for people with blindness or low vision will be improved.

This collaboration is part of the activities of ONCE Innova, the ONCE innovation laboratory, which is committed to collaborative work and the generation of spaces for exchange to promote inclusive innovation and the development of knowledge in new technologies.

Yaiza Rubio, Chief Metaverse Officer of Telefónica, says:

From the area of Web3 and Metaverse we have always developed products and services at the service of people, collaborating with ONCE will help us to reach visually impaired people as well