Two members of the AccessCat Network, María Eugenia Larreina and Marta Brescia, researchers from the TransMedia Catalonia research group, have participated in Sónar Pro, a space where the professionals who attend the festival can present projects and share ideas, network, and establish possible collaborations.

During the lecture “The Sound of the Metaverse”, within the panel “Research, Music, and AI”, moderated by Niall Doorley, the researchers stressed the importance of implementing accessibility services in the metaverse and presented possible accessibility solutions for music events in this new environment. They did so by showing a demo of a space created in the metaverse using the platform Spatial. 

The researchers also stressed the importance of creating accessible software and hardware in order to guarantee accessibility in a transversal way in virtual reality. They also pointed out that virtual reality has many more uses beyond culture, since it can also be used for fully accessible occupational or therapeutic tasks.

During the session, they also released a 3D logo for the AccessCat Network which was designed in an accessible way to illustrate how the many graphic elements that make up virtual spaces should be. 

After the other projects in the panel had been presented, from the Santa Creu and Sant Pau Hospital Research Institute and the centre I+D Eurecat, the floor was opened to debate among the audience and the speakers, which allowed the researchers to share opinions with professionals from other sectors who are interested in immersive technologies. “The Sound of the Metaverse”, which is currently in its demo phase, stirred much public interest.