Proposal for New Work Item: Accessibility Standards for 3D and Spatial Interfaces in India

Dear IDAAN Chairs and Community Members,

I’m writing to propose a new work item for the India Digital Accessibility Advocacy Network (IDAAN), focused on accessibility standards for 3D objects and spatial interfaces within the GIGW 3.0 framework.

As digital services in India evolve, we are beginning to see early use of 3D environments in areas such as education, simulations, and digital representations of physical spaces. This shift raises an important question: how do existing accessibility requirements apply when the interface is no longer flat?

While GIGW 3.0 provides a strong foundation for web and mobile accessibility, there is currently limited guidance on how these principles translate to 3D and spatial interfaces. Addressing this early can help ensure that accessibility is carried forward, rather than retrofitted later.

I would like to propose a Community Group Report titled:
“Technical Implementation of GIGW 3.0 for 3D Objects and Spatial User Interfaces.”

The work could focus on a few key areas:

Defining how 3D objects convey meaning and purpose in a way that assistive technologies can interpret
Establishing navigation approaches for non-linear 3D environments that remain operable through keyboard and assistive technology
Providing guidance on visual clarity and spatial audio to support users with different sensory needs
Ensuring that support for Indian languages carries into these environments, including text-to-speech and captioning
My background is in accesin accessibility consulting, with a focus on how systems behave for screen reader users in real-world scenarios. I have also worked on accessibility tooling, including add-ons for the screen reader NVDA, and have explored accessibility challenges in 3D environments in earlier work.

I would be glad to contribute to this effort, either as a lead editor or as part of a technical group, depending on what the community finds useful.

I’d appreciate your thoughts on whether this could be included in the IDAAN roadmap, and how best to take it forward.

Best regards
Rajath Tirumangalam