philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

18Nov/14Off

Microsoft pilots 3D audio technology to help blind people navigate

Screenshot-2014-11-06-13.20.05-520x375[Augmented Reality technology has tremendous potential for helping sensory-impaired people.  Adding motion-capture (Kinect, Leap Motion, ...) technology to headsets could allow visually impaired people to hear their surroundings.  This Microsoft approach, though, seems like a commercial development with an ADA pitch tagged onto it.  You'd have to put beacons on everything around the person to make this useful for the visually impaired.]

Microsoft is piloting a project in the UK to investigate the potential benefits of its 3D audio technology on those with visual impairments.

The computing giant partnered with the Guide Dogs charity, alongside Network Rail, Reading Borough Council, Reading Buses, Future Cities Catapult (an urban planning company) and supermarket powerhouse Tesco.

Using a set of bone-conducting headphones placed around the back of the wearer’s skull, a mini network of indoor and outdoor beacons work in tandem with a smartphone to enable the user to ‘hear’ their way around an area.

The Bluetooth beacons are fixed to physical objects which then communicate information back to the walker. It’s effectively creating what it calls a “sensor-boosted physical environment” and a 3D soundscape with verbal cues – this may be GPS navigation, bus time arrivals, or even tourist information.

You may be wondering why Tesco’s help has been sought here. Well, for the pilot, users can be guided to the aisle they’re looking for.

See the full story here: http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2014/11/06/microsoft-pilots-3d-audio-technology-help-blind-people-navigate/

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