event

Can You Hear This Map? Research on audio and text maps.

Sighted people view over 300 digital maps a year, while blind people typically interact with fewer than one, and only 17.5% have ever accessed any type of map non-visually. This talk presents Audiom, an interactive alternate‑text, game‑like interface developed through over 13 studies with more than 150 blind and 40 sighted participants to support non-visual exploration and creation of spatial information. The presentation will also compare Audiom with visual maps to help define non‑visual equivalence under WCAG and inform future digital accessibility policy.
 


This event will be held on February 12 from 11:00AM-12:15PM in the Caddell Flex Space. A light lunch will be served. Space is limited, so please only indicate in person if you truly intend to be in person. For those interested in the online option, a teams link will be sent closer to the time of the event. 

About the speaker: Brandon Biggs is an entrepreneur, researcher, inclusive designer, developer, and life-long learner. He is a PhD candidate at Georgia Tech, the CEO of XR Navigation, an Engineer at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, and Co-Founder and board treasurer at Sonja Biggs Educational Services Inc. He is almost completely blind from Lebers Congenital Amaurosis (LCA). His projects and ventures center around building tools to solve some of the most difficult problems in the blindness field. He leverages his lived experience coupled with human centered inclusive design principles to create solutions that create lasting and sustainable impact.

Register: Can You Hear This Map? Research on audio and text maps. – Fill out form

Media

CIDI & CURA present Can You Hear This Map?
can-you-hear-this-map--1-.png

Summary

Sighted people view over 300 digital maps a year, while blind people typically interact with fewer than one, and only 17.5% have ever accessed any type of map non-visually. This talk presents Audiom, an interactive alternate‑text, game‑like interface developed through over 13 studies with more than 150 blind and 40 sighted participants to support non-visual exploration and creation of spatial information. The presentation will also compare Audiom with visual maps to help define non‑visual equivalence under WCAG and inform future digital accessibility policy.
 


This event will be held on February 12 from 11:00AM-12:15PM in the Caddell Flex Space. A light lunch will be served. Space is limited, so please only indicate in person if you truly intend to be in person. For those interested in the online option, a teams link will be sent closer to the time of the event. 

About the speaker: Brandon Biggs is an entrepreneur, researcher, inclusive designer, developer, and life-long learner. He is a PhD candidate at Georgia Tech, the CEO of XR Navigation, an Engineer at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, and Co-Founder and board treasurer at Sonja Biggs Educational Services Inc. He is almost completely blind from Lebers Congenital Amaurosis (LCA). His projects and ventures center around building tools to solve some of the most difficult problems in the blindness field. He leverages his lived experience coupled with human centered inclusive design principles to create solutions that create lasting and sustainable impact.

Register: Can You Hear This Map? Research on audio and text maps. – Fill out form

Details

Thursday
Feb 12 2026
11:00am - 12:15pm

Location: Caddell Flex Space, 280 Ferst Drive, 1st Floor, Atlanta, GA 30332

Contact: Lauren Lee, lauren.lee@design.gatech.edu

URL: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=u5ghSHuuJUuLem1_Mvqgg3T8eQ91F1FOim8yGzyaSZ9URFFSODRCVERDTktETktGM05RVEhUUzNPSC4u

Extras: Free food

In campus calendar: No

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  • Workflow status: Published
  • Created by: llee344
  • Created: 02/02/2026
  • Modified By: llee344
  • Modified: 02/02/2026

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