Abstract
This research analyzes if and how the Head Related Transfer Function (HRTF) can be used to support effective Human-Computer Interaction when people in a Virtual Environment (VE) without visual feedback. If sounds can be located in a VE by using HRTF only, designing and developing considerably safer but diversified training environments might greatly benefit individuals with visual impairments. To investigate this, we ran 2 usability studies: 1) to ascertain whether the HRTF could provide sufficient position information in VEs; 2) to learn whether the HRTF could provide sufficient distance and direction information in VEs. The results showed that a continuous audio feedback could help navigate in a VE without vision feedback.