Add Movement Sounds when Navigating

[frastlin]

When one is moving around in Hubs, there is no auditory feedback for any kind of colision. For nonvisual users, this makes the app not usable for navigating, as they have no idea if they are moving without hearing people around them talking.

I would like there to be a short sound, like a footstep, wing flap, or engine sound play when I move. If I hit an object, I would like a sound related to that object to play. If I hit a wall, I would like a sound related to the material of the wall to play, letting me know I am not able to move in that direction, or making a "uh" sound, as if I'm running into a wall.

There are not really any alternative options if movement is part of Hubs.

Look at games like Swamp, Super Egghunt plus, or A hero's call for some good examples on how to implement object collision sounds.

[joshmarinacci]

consider doing this as an experimental prefs

[TechThomas]

@frastlin I just want to add feedback that in my past research projects sometimes blind people felt the constant noise of movement was taxing on the ears. This might be because I chose to use a "horses galloping" sound in my design but I think its worth exploring to determine if every step needs to be sonically indicated with your users.

[frastlin]

How much work did you do to make sure the volume and sound was aesthetically pleasing? Sound design is a profession just like graphic design. If you have a not-so-aesthetically pleasing sound, then yes, it won't be pleasant. A footstep sound should have a volume control and be very short, similar to the steps in the game Swamp.
But more importantly, not having movement sounds violates the Universal design principal of Perceptible information, and Nielsen's heuristics (for interface design of Visibility of system status, Match between system and the real world, Consistency and standards, and Aesthetic and minimalist design).

[frastlin]

Any update on this? I would also like an option to press a button and hear where a particular person is in relation to me, as my biggest problem is that I can't find people once I enter a room. I am still not able to tell when I'm moving though.
Maybe a solution could be adding footstep sounds when you create your avatar? You could have ddefault sounds, but I think having bones rattling when I move around would be really cool if I'm a skeleton.

[frastlin]

Hello,
Any update on this? Our company is using Hubs for events, and I can't participate very well.

[matthewbcool]

Hi @frastlin, thank you for checking in and reporting. The hubs team have made some advancements around audio with better development tooling, numerous bug fixes, improved browser compatibility and the addition of new components to allow finer control over audio in the scene. We do not have a timetable for resolving this issue but I appreciate your reporting and bringing many good ideas and examples for us to consider. I've done some preliminary work with the guidance of our engineering manager in prototyping a system but it's still very early.

[frastlin]

Thank you, please let me know if I can alpha test some concepts!
It's really feedback to know I'm moving, collision sounds, and a beacon sound to tell me where a particular person is (that I can quickly cycle through to hear if there are groups of people together).
I'm told that often I'm in a corner, so then I wait to hear someone talking, and I can move to their voice, and that's OK, but I can't do anything if I don't hear people talking. Here is kind of an example of what I would like for movement and hit sounds.

[frastlin]

Hello, any feedback on this? This is an extremely easy feature to add, and it's been almost three years with no progress. This is the one feature that will really move Hubs from being completely noncompliant with section 508 and 504, to somewhat compliant. I see on the website that education is a customer focus of Hubs. No educational institution will use this system until it's accessible for blind users, as they know the Department of Justice Office of Civil Rights is cracking down on digital accessibility in education. If they are using it, it's at a huge risk to them, as digital accessibility lawsuits are at an all-time high. If your team would like further consultation with blind VR developers, please reach out.