How Microsoft Is Making Its Headset Smarter To Help The Blind Navigate More Easily

Microsoft and Guide Dogs, a UK-based Charity for the blind and partially sighted, have collaborated to come up with an unique initiative called 'Cities Unlocked'. This project harnesses the new technologies to enable people suffering from sight loss to navigate better in their surroundings using sound & a smart headset. The headphones comes with a navigation app that shares information with the wearer about the path ahead and the surroundings so that he or she can build a mental image. The company has recently shared an update to their software that lets users command the headset using a remote or their own voice to tell them additional information about their surrounding.


When these smart headsets first arrived, they featured a setup where the user was made to hear a series of repeated clicking sounds that would tell the wearer which way or direction is the correct one. Microsoft has taken that a step forward and redesigned the software so that it has become more descriptive than prescriptive.

The new, smarter headphone set lets the visually impaired people find out what things are located immediately next to them, when they are walking on the street or moving through a mall. The headphones speaks instructions in the wearer's ears about what's coming up next based on the distance.

The headset is accompanied with a physical remote that features 3 buttons. One for giving you the compass direction, another to tell you what's immediately around you and the third one to repeat the last said information so that you don't miss out on something crucial.

The system is being called '3D audio' as it helps the wearers in creating a mental map based on the information received via sound. The headphones block the street noise when required. Take a look at the update demonstration video shared by the company -


Microsoft's effort is directed at making the visually impaired people become more mobile as well as more independent so that they get on and about everywhere just like everyone else. With the availability of Microsoft's smart headphones, over 1,80,000 blind people in UK alone could become more confident about leaving their homes without a fear.

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