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3D audio

Microsoft Soundscape Now Available in Canada

An iOS app that uses 3D audio cues to help the blind and vision-impaired navigate the world around them, made its debut last spring in the U.S. and now, the Soundscape app from Microsoft has been launched in Canada as a free download both in English and French.

“With 3D audio, the sounds are perceived as coming from the point of interest, so the user can build a mental image of what’s around from the acoustic environment, the soundscape of sounds in the environment and those from the Soundscape app,” explains Microsoft in its press release. read more

Microsoft’s New Soundscape app Helps the Visually Impaired Navigate Cities

Microsoft has a new iOS app out called Soundscape that uses 3D audio technology to help map out landmarks and points of interest through audio cues.

The company has been working on using 3D soundscapes of audio for navigation as early as 2014 when the company first began experimenting with a bone conduction headset and smartphone system. The Soundscape app is built off of that research, packaging it into a form that works with an ordinary smartphone and any pair of stereo headphones.

Users can set audio beacons at specific destinations and places, and the app will provide 3D audio cues (which can be perceived directionally) to help improve their “ambient awareness” as they travel there. Users will then be able to incorporate that information from the Soundscape as they build a mental image of what’s around them. read more

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