May 2nd, 2024

Microsoft researchers will showcase Scene Weaving, a new approach to visual accessibility for 3D spaces.

Event Details

Date: May 2nd, 2024

Time: 10am PT/1pm ET/5pm GMT

Duration: 60 minutes

Location: Zoom

Three-dimensional virtual environments are currently inaccessible to people who are blind, as current screen-reading solutions for 2D content are not fully extensible to achieve the needed embodied spatial presence. Forefronting perceptual agency as key to any access approach for users who are blind, we offer Scene Weaving as an interactional metaphor that allows users to choose how and when they perceive the environment and the people in it. We illustrate how this metaphor can be implemented in a demo of an example prototype system. We conclude by talking about how these ideas have informed 3D screenreader UI for Microsoft’s Mesh product.

Register to Attend

If you need an accommodation such as sign language interpretation or CART, please email info@xraccess.org no later than 72 hours prior to the event.

About the Speakers

Professional headshot of Dalya Perez, who has medium dark wavy hair, medium olive skintone, and is wearing a red blouse and leaning on her hand.

Dalya Perez

Dalya Perez is a Product Manager for Accessibility and Global Readiness at Microsoft on the Mesh team. She has a PhD in Education leadership and policy from UW.

Black and white portrait of Thom Gable, a bald man wearing glasses. He has facial hair and is smiling.

Thom Gable

Dr. Thom Gable is a Senior User Researcher at Microsoft, where he focuses on a variety of products across Mixed Reality, Surface, and other devices. His work ranges across topics such as input, hardware experience, accessibility, and product ideation.

Headshot of Zhanata Mahataeva. In the square image, I am positioned in the upper atrium of Nazarbayev University in Astana City, Kazakhstan. The background behind me is blurry. There, the national flag of the Republic of Kazakhstan hangs from the ceiling near the entrance to the main atrium of the university, displaying a blue sky backdrop with a yellow sun at its center, beneath which a soaring eagle is depicted; on the left part of the flag, there are traditional yellow patterns adorn the fabric. I wear a white shirt paired with a burgundy cardigan, and my hair falls below the shoulders. Minimal makeup has been applied, with a touch of reddish lip balm. A faint smile graces my face.

Zhanat Mahataeva

Zhanat Mahataeva is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Smart Systems and Artificial Intelligence (ISSAI) at Nazarbayev University.

Martin Grayson standing in front of some shelves.

Martin Grayson

Martin Grayson is an engineering manager in the Collaborative Intelligence group at Microsoft Research, working across design and development, to build new user experiences that can enhance people’s everyday lives at home and at work.

Harshadha Balasubramanian, a South Asian woman with dark curly hair.

Harshadha Balasubramanian

Harshadha is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Digital Anthropology (UCL) and was formerly an intern at Microsoft Research where she contributed to a project on non-visual VR access.