For many people, observing animals is a fascinating experience. Today, webcams and livestreams even enable the observation of animals far away. However, these experiences remain inaccessible to blind and visually impaired people, as the content is exclusively visual. This results losing valuable access to nature and education. Current solutions are only partially effective in this regard and hardly take into account the needs of this user group. This is exactly where VISUAL comes in and explores how can virtual animal experiences be designed with the help of AI to be accessible to everyone?

A literature review in the areas of user, animals, didactics, and technology built the theoretical basis. Subsequently, these findings were incorporated into developing a prototype of VISUAL as proof-of-concept, combining a multimodal large language model, animal webcam livestreams, and retrieval augmented generation with accessibility principles to make a contribution to Inclusive AI. VISUAL was iteratively developed based on continuous internal testing and testing scenarios with users, providing valuable insights for the further improvement of the system.

VISUAL demonstrates that wildlife experiences can be made accessible to blind and visually impaired people in ways that go beyond simple descriptions. By combining animal webcams with a multimodal large language model and consistent accessibility, VISUAL proves that technology can be inclusive without compromising depth. Its success is not limited to technical feasibility, but more in its user value. VISUAL creates a captivating, customizable, and educational experience. This shows that innovation and accessibility can reinforce each other, rather than being opposites. VISUAL is a proof-of-concept that inclusion can be a central pillar of AI development. Its contribution extends to Inclusive AI and Animal-Computer Interaction. What makes VISUAL so special is that previously excluded user groups can now participate in animal experiences that before were only limited to sighted people. VISUAL’s significance lies not only in its capability to provide access to wildlife across the world, but moreover it is also a vision of inclusive technology, where engagement is expanded, diversity is embraced, and innovation is evaluated based not solely on performance, but on its power to empower.