# ADCanvas: Accessible and Conversational Audio Description Authoring for Blind and Low Vision Creators

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.07266 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.07266/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 6 Feb 2026.

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [How Do Novice Describers Edit AI Drafts? The Role of Draft Quality in Audio Description Authoring](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.05348/) (2026)
- [BrailleBench: Investigating Multi-Criteria Braille Comprehension in Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.27268/) (2026)
- [Small yet Assistive: Spatially-Aware Post-Training for Low Vision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.28757/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Audio Description (AD) provides essential access to visual media for blind and low vision (BLV) audiences. Yet current AD production tools remain largely inaccessible to BLV video creators, who possess valuable expertise but face barriers due to visually-driven interfaces. We present ADCanvas, a multimodal authoring system that supports non-visual control over audio description (AD) creation. ADCanvas combines conversational interaction with keyboard-based playback control and a plain-text, screen reader-accessible editor to support end-to-end AD authoring and visual question answering (VQA). Combining screen-reader-friendly controls with a multimodal LLM agent, ADCanvas supports live VQA, script generation, and AD modification. Through a user study with 12 BLV video creators, we find that users adopt the conversational agent as an informational aide and drafting assistant, while maintaining agency through verification and editing. For example, participants saw themselves as curators who received information from the model and filtered it down for their audience. Our findings offer design implications for accessible media tools, including precise editing controls, accessibility support for creative ideation, and configurable rules for human-AI collaboration.