Audiom

Audiom is a tool that allows blind and visually impaired individuals to view maps completely in audio. It is a web component and can be embedded into any webpage, similar to Google Maps. It allows non-visual use of route, landmark, and survey knowledge, which is the critical information needed for navigation. It can also show large maps, such as the globe, and communicate information such as the shape of Italy and what Italy borders with.

Audiom is based on the conventions found in audio games, which are games that can be played completely in audio. The interface has also been co-designed with over 30 blind individuals. The knowledge transfer partner for Audiom is XR Navigation. Visit Audiom at:

https://audiom.net

Publications
Projects
Labs
Centers
People
News

Publications

Journal Articles
Presentations
Conference Papers

Biggs, B. ., Agbaroji, H. ., Toth, C. ., Stockman, T. ., Coughlan, J. ., & Walker, B. . (2024). Co-Designing Auditory Navigation Solutions for Traveling as a Blind Individual During The COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Blindness Innovation and Research, 14(1). (Original work published 2024)

Biggs, B. ., Toth, C. ., Stockman, T. ., Tupy, S. ., Coughlan, J. ., & Walker, B. N. (2022). Audiom: an Auditory Web-Based Geographic Map Viewer Showing COVID-19 State Data and a Travel Map. (Original work published 2022)

Biggs, B. ., Toth, C. ., Stockman, T. ., Coughlan, J. ., & Walker, B. N. (2022). Evaluation of a Non-Visual Auditory Choropleth and Travel Map Viewer. International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD) 2022. Presented at the International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD) 2022. Virtual. Retrieved from PMCID: PMC10010675 (Original work published 2022)

Biggs, B. ., Coughlan, J. ., & Coppin, P. . (2019). Design and Evaluation of an Audio Game-Inspired Auditory Map Interface. The 25th International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD 2019). Presented at the The 25th International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD 2019). Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK. (Original work published 2019)

Projects

Active

Active

Audiom Map of Smith-Kettlewell

An Audiom map of the main Smith-Kettlewell building at 2318 Fillmore St., San Francisco has been created by Brandon Biggs. This is an audio-visual map that allows users to explore a detailed map of the building with or without vision. The map runs in any browser and is available to anyone who visits the building.

Coughlan Lab
Principal Investigator:
The goal of our laboratory is to develop and test assistive technology for blind and visually impaired persons that is enabled by computer vision and other sensor technologies.
Read More

Centers

Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center
The Center's research goal is to develop and apply new scientific knowledge and practical, cost-effective devices to better understand and address the real-world problems of blind, visually impaired, and deaf-blind...
Read More

People

Current

James Coughlan
Senior Scientist

Read More
Brandon Biggs
Engineer

Read More
Christopher Toth
Engineer

Read More

News

Brandon Biggs to present at Sight Tech Global 2024
Brandon Biggs, CEO of XR Navigation, will present at Sight Tech Global 2024 in the section Founders and Investors: Tales and Tips from the Start-up World. His talk is scheduled...
Read More
Brandon Biggs and XR Navigation Are Making History
History has been made!
Read More
SKERI Researchers Bring their Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology to CSUN Tech Conference
Smith-Kettlewell’s Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) on Blindness and Low Vision, funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR ), supports eight projects related to visual...
Read More

Get Involved

If you are interested in vision science or want to learn more about low vision and blindness, there are many opportunities to get involved at The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute.

Donate

Participate in a study