Australia: Microsoft Launches 3D Audio App for Persons with Visual Impairment
September 17, 2018
Microsoft and Vision Australia unveiled a new 3D audio app designed to give blind and vision impaired people greater independence to explore the world around them.
Dubbed Soundscape, the software enables users to set audio beacons at destinations and landmarks, and through a stereo headset the 3D audio is perceived as coming from the point of interest as they walk, allowing them to build a mental image of what’s around from the acoustic environment.
The app also calls out roads, intersections and landmarks, and was designed to be used in addition to mobility aids such as guide dogs and canes.
For David Woodbridge, Access Technology Advisor at Vision Australia, the app helps him to create a mental map of his surroundings.
“Soundscape gives me confidence in an outside environment by helping me understand what’s around me – whether it’s a restaurant, café, railway station, walking [or] bike track, park, business or even a street name. It allows me to build a mental map of my neighbourhood,” Woodbridge said.
The app provides more sensory information than traditional navigation maps that [...]