Audio Description

A narration track that describes visual elements of media, exhibitions, performances, or environments for people who are blind or have low vision. In museums, audio descriptions provide verbal accounts of exhibits, artworks, and spatial layouts. While valuable, research shows that pre-recorded audio descriptions can be overly rigid, may carry the biases of the describer, demand significant cognitive load, and often fail to provide the contextual flexibility that visitors need for independent exploration. Live, interactive, and AI-powered audio description systems are emerging as alternatives.