research-article

Eyes-Free Art: Exploring Proxemic Audio Interfaces For Blind and Low Vision Art Engagement

Authors:

Meredith Ringel MorrisAuthors Info & Claims

Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies, Volume 1, Issue 3

Article No.: 93, Pages 1 - 21

https://doi.org/10.1145/3130958

Published: 11 September 2017 Publication History

Abstract

Engagement in the arts1 is an important component of participation in cultural activities, but remains a largely unaddressed challenge for people with sensory disabilities. Visual arts are generally inaccessible to people with visual impairments due to their inherently visual nature. To address this, we present Eyes-Free Art, a design probe to explore the use of proxemic audio for interactive sonic experiences with 2D art work. The proxemic audio interface allows a user to move closer and further away from a painting to experience background music, a novel sonification, sound effects, and a detailed verbal description. We conducted a lab study by creating interpretations of five paintings with 13 people with visual impairments and found that participants enjoyed interacting with the artwork. We then created a live installation with a visually impaired artist to iterate on this concept to account for multiple users and paintings. We learned that a proxemic audio interface allows for people to feel immersed in the artwork. Proxemic audio interfaces are similar to visual because they increase in detail with closer proximity, but are different because they need a descriptive verbal overview to give context. We present future research directions in the space of proxemic audio interactions.

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Cited By

Wang XKayukawa STakagi HMasoero GAsakawa C(2024)Direct or Immersive? Comparing Smartphone-based Museum Guide Systems for Blind VisitorsProceedings of the 21st International Web for All Conference10.1145/3677846.3677856(10-22)Online publication date: 13-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3677846.3677856
Bennett CShelby RRostamzadeh NKane S(2024)Painting with Cameras and Drawing with Text: AI Use in Accessible CreativityProceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility10.1145/3663548.3675644(1-19)Online publication date: 27-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3663548.3675644
Chheda-Kothary AWobbrock JFroehlich J(2024)Engaging with Children's Artwork in Mixed Visual-Ability FamiliesProceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility10.1145/3663548.3675613(1-19)Online publication date: 27-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3663548.3675613
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Index Terms

Eyes-Free Art: Exploring Proxemic Audio Interfaces For Blind and Low Vision Art Engagement
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Accessibility
    1. Accessibility technologies
  2. Human computer interaction (HCI)
    1. Interaction techniques
      1. Auditory feedback

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cover image Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies

Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies Volume 1, Issue 3

September 2017

2023 pages

EISSN:2474-9567

DOI:10.1145/3139486

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Copyright © 2017 ACM.

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Publication History

Published: 11 September 2017

Accepted: 01 June 2017

Revised: 01 May 2017

Received: 01 February 2017

Published in IMWUT Volume 1, Issue 3

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Cited By

Wang XKayukawa STakagi HMasoero GAsakawa C(2024)Direct or Immersive? Comparing Smartphone-based Museum Guide Systems for Blind VisitorsProceedings of the 21st International Web for All Conference10.1145/3677846.3677856(10-22)Online publication date: 13-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3677846.3677856
Bennett CShelby RRostamzadeh NKane S(2024)Painting with Cameras and Drawing with Text: AI Use in Accessible CreativityProceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility10.1145/3663548.3675644(1-19)Online publication date: 27-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3663548.3675644
Chheda-Kothary AWobbrock JFroehlich J(2024)Engaging with Children's Artwork in Mixed Visual-Ability FamiliesProceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility10.1145/3663548.3675613(1-19)Online publication date: 27-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3663548.3675613
Gupta CSridhar SMatthies DJouffrais CNanayakkara S(2024)SonicVista: Towards Creating Awareness of Distant Scenes through SonificationProceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies10.1145/36596098:2(1-32)Online publication date: 15-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3659609
Nagassa RButler MHolloway LTandori EMarriott K(2024)Push, Scan, Tap: Embracing Commodity Technology for the provision of Accessible Information in Cultural InstitutionsExtended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613905.3637122(1-6)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613905.3637122
Das MFiannaca AMorris MKane SBennett C(2024)From Provenance to Aberrations: Image Creator and Screen Reader User Perspectives on Alt Text for AI-Generated ImagesProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642325(1-21)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613904.3642325
Jiang LJung CPhutane MStangl AAzenkot S(2024)“It’s Kind of Context Dependent”: Understanding Blind and Low Vision People’s Video Accessibility Preferences Across Viewing ScenariosProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642238(1-20)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613904.3642238
Butler MTandori EDziekan VEllis KHall JHolloway LNagassa RMarriott K(2023)A Gallery In My Hand: A Multi-Exhibition Investigation of Accessible and Inclusive Gallery Experiences for Blind and Low Vision VisitorsProceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility10.1145/3597638.3608391(1-15)Online publication date: 22-Oct-2023
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Jain GHindi BCourtien CXu XWyrick CMalcolm MSmith B(2023)Front Row: Automatically Generating Immersive Audio Representations of Tennis Broadcasts for Blind ViewersProceedings of the 36th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology10.1145/3586183.3606830(1-17)Online publication date: 29-Oct-2023
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Clark MDoryab A(2023)Sounds of HealthProceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies10.1145/35703466:4(1-31)Online publication date: 11-Jan-2023
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