Their work addresses a critical challenge: the heavy reliance on visuals in virtual environments, which creates significant barriers for blind and low-vision (BLV) individuals. Through their implementation of active echolocation in a 3D virtual environment, they conducted a user study with 13 BLV participants. Their findings reveal the diverse navigation strategies used by participants, while also identifying key limitations and areas for improvement in their design.

This research not only underscores the potential of echolocation as a tool for BLV individuals to navigate virtual spaces but also sets the stage for future enhancements in accessibility and usability in this field.

In October, Mai and Rasmus will present their work at the ACM ASSETS 2024 conference. If they win the competition, they'll advance to the grand finals!

We wish them the best of luck!

NOTE: The paper has not been published yet, but we will share the link once it has been.