Bridge Holds International Conference Focused on Audio Description for 360º Media & the Metaverse

On April 5, 2024, Bridge Multimedia held its Annual Advisory Board Meeting in Manhattan. It bought together audio description users and accessibility specialists from around the U.S. – and Europe. The theme of the full-day event was Advances in Accessible Technology. Dr. Anna Matamala, of Barcelona University, kicked off the program with her keynote speech, Accessibility in Immersive Media and the Metaverse.

Bridge showcased their advances in audio description for 360-degree media. Accessibility writer Kara Bohnenstiel and Louis Milisci (Bridge’s technical engineer) both spoke about the art and science of producing immersive audio description. Conference participants had a chance to don a headset and experience an audio described 360-degree video titled Bella Gaia (“Beautiful Earth”). Directed by Kenji Williams, the video featured NASA footage of planet Earth, as seen from space.

The conference also focused on advancements in AI-driven accessible technology. Bridge Multimedia presented its Plain Language Bridge prototype, designed to convert complicated information into personalized plain language in real time, via an AI voice, screen text, and captions. This was all in addition to Bridge’s annual audio description content review and evaluation session. According to Dr. Wendy Sapp, Bridge’s Sr. Project Director, “The valuable, information that we gain through our Advisory Board meetings has informed every one of Bridge’s accessibility initiatives.”