OptikAR: Simulation of visual impairments and the resulting side effects using augmented reality

Name of participant: Jonas Wombacher

Project’s name: OptikAR: Simulation of visual impairments and the resulting side effects using augmented reality

Project description:

None of our senses shapes our daily perception quite as strongly as our sense to see – it allows us to grasp the world around us and orient ourselves in it. At the same time, it is susceptible to changes caused by ageing or illness. Illnesses like cataract, glaucoma or macular degeneration do not only lead to a slow, silent worsening of eyesight, they also have a profound impact on the quality of life of those affected. These ramifications are often hard to communicate. People with no congruent experience can scarcely imagine, what certain constraints on the eyesight feel like, how deeply they affect daily life and what the consequences of not undergoing a medical procedure might have.

Even for medical experts, relatives and decision-makers in the healthcare sector, the abstract nature of visual impairments poses a challenge. There is often a gap in understanding between the medical diagnosis, the consultation and the actual decision for or against a course of treatment, both among those affected and those around them. A main reason for this is the hard visualisation of the changes in eyesight.

This is where Augmented Reality (AR) opens new possibilities: Through immersive visualisation techniques, the individual visual experience can be altered and simulated accurately. Users could experience first-hand, how certain eye conditions would affect their field of vision – in a real-world environment and in real time. OptikAR builds on this potential and experiments with the use of AR-glasses for real-time simulation of visual impairment. The aim is to show those affected, as well as the people around them, an immediate, immersive understanding of the consequences of these impairments and to build a fundament to base informed medical decisions on.

Software Campus Partner: TU Darmstadt & Carl Zeiss AG

Implementation period: 01.01.2026 – 31.12.2027