On February 13, Alicia Cañellas-Mayor defended her doctoral thesis “Accesibilidad y usos positivos aplicados de la realidad extendida (virtual, aumentada y mixta) para personas con movilidad reducida. Hacia un Metaverso inclusivo” supervised by Dr. Laura Aymerich-Franch.

Cañellas has carried out her thesis within the Industrial Doctorates Plan, resulting from an agreement between our research group and the company VISYON of the Mediapro group. This doctoral program promoted by the Generalitat de Catalunya aims to enhance university-company collaboration.

Another particularity: this is the second applied thesis defended in the Communication Department since this modality was set. 

Applied theses are problem-solving research that, beyond a scientific contribution, create prototypes, products, software, or artistic creations.

Alicia’s prototype is #VRACCESMOB, a Virtual Reality (VR) technology adapted for people with reduced mobility that allows immersive visits to cultural and educational environments. This prototype has been awarded several times and selected by the XR4ALL awards within the Horizon 2020 Program of the European Union.

The starting premise of the thesis is that Extended Reality (XR) technologies present accessibility challenges for people with reduced mobility but can also be beneficial for their well-being.

The thesis defense tribunal emphasized the rigor of the research, the consistency of the methodologies used with the objectives set, and the complexity of carrying out an experiment with people with reduced mobility during a pandemic. 

The members of the research group would like to congratulate the new doctor for her excellent cum laude work,  not only of academic relevance but also of great value to society.