Microsoft has launched a sound-based navigation app for partially sighted users, offering what it calls a 3D audio experience to help those with sight problems move around more easily. The app uses location data from a smartphone and combines it with a range of clicks and other sounds played through headphones to indicate where landmarks, waypoints and desired destinations are. The charity’s chief executive Tom Wright said the app could give those with sight loss a level of freedom they would otherwise be unable to have. “If you’re living with sight loss, getting around towns and cities can be daunting,” he said. “We worked with Microsoft to put people with sight loss at the heart of the development of Soundscape.

Source: Irish Examiner March 01, 2018 16:18 UTC