By AppleVis,
Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team
Microsoft has announced that as of January 3, 2023, its Soundscape app will
not be available for download and that existing installations will cease to
work after the end of June 2023.
The Microsoft Soundscape app for iPhone was launched 6 years ago. It uses 3D
audio technology to enhance your awareness of what is around you, and
thereby help you get around and explore your surroundings. As you walk, key
points of interest and your own saved locations are called out automatically
as you pass them. Additionally, Microsoft Soundscape can tell you about your
current location, direction, and what's ahead of you. It was inducted in to
the AppleVis Hall of Fame in 2019.
In its announcement, Microsoft says that "it is now time to transition the
Soundscape research project to the next phase, where we will share it to
allow for broader development." This will be in the form of the Soundscape
code becoming available on GitHub as open-source software.
" Beginning January 3, 2023, the Soundscape code will be available as
open-source software, so that anyone can continue to build on, and find new
ways to leverage, this novel feature set for the growing navigation
opportunities in today's world. As Microsoft Research continues to expand
into new accessibility innovation areas, we hope the open-source software
release of the Soundscape code supports the community in further developing
confidence and utility of spatial audio navigation experiences".
Microsoft says that this announcement heralds "New Horizons" for Microsoft
Soundscape "with a community-driven approach. As many blind users have come
to rely on Microsoft Soundscape as an important part of their navigation
toolbox, we will be keen to discover what opportunities that having the
soundscape code available as open source will offer to other developers -
whether this is to incorporate Soundscape's functionality into existing
tools or to create completely new ones.
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