[29.05.2008 first posted on silicon republic]
A fully immersive, 3D, interactive, urban model for Dublin, named the Metropolis Project, will be introducing elements of assistive technology by developing games for people with disabilities to make full use of this Dublin city virtual environment.

The GV2 Group at the school of computer science and statistics in Trinity College Dublin (TCD) are collaborating with the Central Remedial Clinic (CRC) school in Clontarf to make this gaming/exploration fusion happen.
The idea for the collaboration sprung from the fact that many of the students at the CRC have mobility issues and playing computer games together is already a large part of their group interaction.
The thinking behind creating games in a virtual Dublin is that children with disabilities can play games in this environment, helping them to learn placenames, plan routes and get to know Dublin city and its main buildings and public transport route for independent travel and living in the future.
“The idea for the game came from one of the students, Conor Nolan, who has attended the CRC school since he was three years old,” said Professor Carol O’Sullivan, principal investigator on Project Metropolis.
“Conor, who was born with spina bifida, particularly enjoys driving virtual cars and motorbikes, flying aeroplanes and helicopters in computer games such as Need for Speed.
“When his mother contacted the team here in TCD, we thought this would be an excellent opportunity to illustrate how interactive entertainment technology, such as that being developed in the Metropolis project, could be used for educational and therapeutic purposes.”
This virtual exploration game is being installed as a facility for students in the CRC premises and has the support of the Science Foundation Ireland-funded Metropolis project.
By Marie Boran
Pictured: screenshot from virtual Dublin