Inspiration
I built Rung to make the night sky accessible to people who are visually impaired, specifically Kashmiri veterans in my community, into intuitive audio interactions and localized language. The project grew out of my work with the Astronomy & Astrophysics Club and a desire to combine outreach, accessibility, and low-barrier technology so that people who cannot rely on visual cues can still experience and learn about astronomy.
What it does
Rung is a mobile app that uses audio cues and accessible interaction patterns to guide visually impaired users through stargazing experiences. It identifies prominent stars and/or patterns, describes them in plain language, and guides users’ observation through spoken prompts and audio feedback, enabling meaningful participation in observational astronomy without visual reliance.
How I built it
I led the project as designer and coordinator rather than as the primary code author. My role combined user research, interaction design, and project coordination. I worked with developers to translate designs into a working prototype, and organized pilot deployments and feedback collection in the target villages.
Challenges I ran into
Technical constraints: supporting reliable audio cues on a range of low-cost devices and handling variable connectivity required the app to be fairly basic in terms of operation.
Logistics: piloting in rural settings with veterans required coordinating transports, devices, and establishing trust with participants so they would try a novel interaction modality.
What I learned
Inclusive design requires making difficult prioritization choices: simpler, reliably usable features often deliver more value than feature-rich but fragile alternatives.
Clear problem framing and precise user stories are essential when you are directing engineers but not doing the bulk of implementation yourself.
Early, small pilots with the target users are the fastest path to actionable insights for accessibility features.
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.