Enhancing Walk-Light Detector Usage for the Visually Impaired: A Comparison of VR Exploration and Verbal Instructions

People with visual impairments (PVI) increasingly rely on camera-enabled smartphone apps for tasks like photography, navigation, and text recognition. Despite the growing use of these applications, precise camera aiming remains a significant challenge. This study explores the impact of virtual reality (VR) exploration compared to traditional text/audio (TA) instructions in the context of learning to use a walk-light detector app at traffic intersections. We developed a VR exploration tool based on insights gathered from interviews with PVI. A user study was conducted, involving 13 PVI