Microsoft Soundscape

A map delivered in 3D sound

Audio information in 3D—for more independence and mobility

Microsoft Soundscape is a general-purpose application and allows the user to switch effortlessly between using it in the real world or in the virtual world, to help build a richer awareness of their surroundings and explore their environment. It now features head tracking with the Apple AirPods Pro and AirPods Max. Place your phone in your pocket or bag and enjoy a hands-free Soundscape experience. Your AirPods will track the direction of your head, allowing you to effortlessly hear the audio beacon and callouts in 3D. If you use Apple AirPods Pro or Max, you’ll need to set them up in Soundscape using the Head Tracking Headset menu.

Soundscape Street Preview

Soundscape Street Preview breaks fresh ground for Soundscape by providing an innovative tool for virtually exploring the world! With it, you can select any location in the world to preview the area at street level in order to familiarize and build a mental map of the space. Soundscape Street Preview will help enrich your awareness of familiar places, and help you explore and discover new and unfamiliar places!

Watch the video > (opens in new tab)

Explore the world from the comfort of your sofa

When people have more ambient information, they naturally and intuitively create better mental maps, so they can explore more and feel more comfortable and connected in new environments. Soundscape provides spatial information everywhere you go and adds functionality to existing navigation systems.

While Soundscape enriches your surroundings it is designed to complement and not replace current mobility aids for people with sight loss. We encourage users with sight loss to continue to place their basic awareness of their surroundings and mobility skills as a priority.

A group of people standing outside in an enclosed and paved area with buildings nearby

Grow your awareness and discover new places.

A map of Reading showing a route walked from Reading University to the town centre with key landmarks marked out on the map.

Enrich your experience of familiar places and confidently explore the unfamiliar.

A woman with a floral backpack kneels to pet her guide dog while holding her phone.

Run it in the background for a rich ambient experience.

Soundscape - graphic showing spatial audio signals

What is spatial audio?

Soundscape calls out landmarks in relation to you, letting you connect with your environment naturally and more intuitively without getting in the way of what you’re doing or who you’re with.

Soundscape - graphic showing an audio signal location at a bank

Setting a beacon

Once you set the audio beacon to a destination, you can put the phone away and walk. Soundscape will call out roads and intersections through your headphones, putting you in control of how you want to get there.

Information buttons

My Location, Around Me, and Ahead of Me buttons help build a picture of where you are and what’s around you. “Around Me” will call out four points of interest in a 360-degree sweep, and “Ahead of Me” calls out five items in front of you.

Soundscape - graphic showing person using a cane and audio signal at bus stop

Wayfinding

Unlike step-by-step instructions, sounds guide you a more natural way to move through spaces and find places on your own terms.

Running in the background

Soundscape can be used as a stand-alone app, or it can complement other navigational aids by running in the background, helping build a richer ambient awareness of your surroundings.

OpenStreetMap

Soundscape uses OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab) data, which is a rich and constantly enhanced community-generated mapping platform.

“I found a performing arts center in my new neighborhood that I didn’t know existed until I used the app.”
— Priscilla Jimenez