054 - Soundscaping the world with Amos Miller

Amos Miller is a product strategist on the Microsoft Research NeXT Enable team, and he’s played a pivotal role in bringing some of MSR’s most innovative research to users with disabilities. He also happens to be blind, so he can appreciate, perhaps in ways others can’t, the value of the technologies he works on, like Soundscape, an app which enhances mobility independence through audio and sound. On today’s podcast, Amos Miller answers burning questions like how do you make a microwave accessible, what’s the cocktail party effect, and how do you hear a landmark? He also talks about how researchers are exploring the untapped potential of 3D audio in virtual and augmented reality applications, and explains how, in the end, his work is not so much about making technology more accessible, but using technology to make life more accessible.