Beyond Descriptions: A Generative Scene2Audio Framework for Blind and Low-Vision Users to Experience Vista Landscapes
This work addresses the aesthetic and experiential needs of BLV individuals by moving beyond descriptive aids to provide engaging auditory representations of vista landscapes.
The paper introduces Scene2Audio, a generative framework that creates nonverbal audio from visual scenes to enhance outdoor landscape experiences for blind and low-vision users. A user study with 11 BLV participants found that combining Scene2Audio sounds with speech improves scene imagination compared to speech alone, and a week-long in-the-wild study with 7 users demonstrated its potential.
Current scene perception tools for Blind and Low Vision (BLV) individuals rely on spoken descriptions but lack engaging representations of visually pleasing distant environmental landscapes (Vista spaces). Our proposed Scene2Audio framework generates comprehensible and enjoyable nonverbal audio using generative models informed by psychoacoustics, and principles of scene audio composition. Through a user study with 11 BLV participants, we found that combining the Scene2Audio sounds with speech creates a better experience than speech alone, as the sound effects complement the speech making the scene easier to imagine. A mobile app "in-the-wild" study with 7 BLV users for more than a week further showed the potential of Scene2Audio in enhancing outdoor scene experiences. Our work bridges the gap between visual and auditory scene perception by moving beyond purely descriptive aids, addressing the aesthetic needs of BLV users.