Spatial Knowledge via Auditory Information for Blind Individuals: Spatial Cognition Studies and the Use of Audio-VR (original) (raw)
Related papers
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 2014
Navigation within a closed environment requires analysis of a variety of acoustic cues, a task that is well developed in many visually impaired individuals, and for which sighted individuals rely almost entirely on visual information. For blind people, the act of creating cognitive maps for spaces, such as home or office buildings, can be a long process, for which the individual may repeat various paths numerous times. While this action is typically performed by the individual on-site, it is of some interest to investigate at which point this task can be performed off-site, at the individual's discretion. In short, is it possible for an individual to learn an architectural environment without being physically present? If so, such a system could prove beneficial for navigation preparation in new and unknown environments. The main goal of the present research can therefore be summarized as investigating the possibilities of assisting blind individuals in learning a spatial environment configuration through the listening of audio events and their interactions with these events within a virtual reality experience. A comparison of two types of learning through auditory exploration has been performed: in situ real displacement and active navigation in a virtual architecture. The virtual navigation rendered only acoustic information. Results for two groups of five participants showed that interactive exploration of virtual acoustic room simulations can provide sufficient information for the construction of coherent spatial mental maps, although some variations were found between * Current address: the two environments tested in the experiments. Furthermore, the mental representation of the virtually navigated environments preserved topological and metric properties, as was found through actual navigation.
Spatial Audio Applied to Research with the Blind
2011
Spatial audio technology has long been used for studies relating to human perception, primarily in the area of auditory source localisation. The ability to render individual sounds at desired positions or complex spatial audio scenes, without the need to manipulate any physical equipment, has offered researchers many advantages. Recently, the use of spatial audio has expanded beyond the study of such low level processes as localisation, and has been used as a tool to investigate higher-level cognitive functions. This work presents ...
SPATIAL AUDITORY REPRESENTATION IN THE CASE OF THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE
Over the years, it has been widely believed that the blind individuals possess enhanced sound localization abilities that help them to navigate and orient in space in the lack of visual stimuli. In addition to this, it has been argued that the visually impaired people develop increased capacities of the remaining senses (auditory skills, in particular) that exceed those of the normally sighted individuals. The following paper aims to present and compare the most notable sound localization experiments that involved the participation of both blind and sighted control subjects. As the results of these studies provided different results, they have been classified in experiments that show a better localization performance for the blind participants and on the other hand, experiments that yielded equal or worst localization accuracy in the case of the visually impaired subjects. The underlying purpose of our research is to understand the modality and the degree at which the presence or absence of visual stimuli affect the spatial auditory resolution for each of the two target groups.
Spatial navigation with horizontally spatialized sounds in early and late blind individuals
PLoS ONE, 2021
Blind individuals often report difficulties to navigate and to detect objects placed outside their peri-personal space. Although classical sensory substitution devices could be helpful in this respect, these devices often give a complex signal which requires intensive training to analyze. New devices that provide a less complex output signal are therefore needed. Here, we evaluate a smartphone-based sensory substitution device that offers navigation guidance based on strictly spatial cues in the form of horizontally spatialized sounds. The system uses multiple sensors to either detect obstacles at a distance directly in front of the user or to create a 3D map of the environment (detection and avoidance mode, respectively), and informs the user with auditory feedback. We tested 12 early blind, 11 late blind and 24 blindfolded-sighted participants for their ability to detect obstacles and to navigate in an obstacle course. The three groups did not differ in the number of objects detec...
Auditory and Haptic Spatial Cognitive Representation in the Case of the Visually Impaired People
Navigating in an unknown environment is a difficult task for the visually impaired people, as they are required to rely primarily on the haptic or auditory cues, in compensation for the lack of sight. However, their orientation and mobility skills are well developed, although the process of building a solid spatial cognitive map of the environment can be rather long and sinuous. The main inquiry that emerges from this matter is whether they are able to virtually learn the architecture of an environment by adapting to the specific auditory and haptic cues that define the setting and to transfer their knowledge into real-world, physical contexts. As the spatial audio technology is capable to render individual sounds at desired locations and to design complex auditory scenarios though binaural sound synthesis, the purpose of virtual auditory environments has extended from localization tests to investigating higher-level cognitive abilities. This paper aims to investigate and discuss the most relevant studies and experiments concerning the ability of visually impaired people to adapt to novel environments, to successfully navigate them virtually by using auditory or haptic cues and to construct a mental representation of the surrounding space. The motivation underlying our research is twofold: firstly, it is aimed to contribute to documenting the way in which the visually impaired people spatially perceive the environment and secondly, to provide insights for the development of a virtual reality navigational device based on auditory or haptic (vibrotactile and kinesthetic) events. Taking into account the findings of our research on the ability of blind individuals to carry out effective cognitive tasks and spatial mental representations, we will also discuss future perspectives for the development of an assistive VR system that would facilitate navigation, orientation and overall spatial awareness.
The role of sound cues in the spatial knowledge of blind individuals
International journal of special education
The study presented here sought to explore the role of auditory cues in the spatial knowledge of blind individuals by examining the relation between the perceived auditory cues and the landscape of a given area and by investigating how blind individuals use auditory cues to create cognitive maps. The findings reveal that several auditory cues characterize the study area and are linked to a number of its spatial features. Moreover, the results indicate that, through their sense of hearing, individuals with visual impairments create cognitive maps which include information about spatial relationships of environmental objects/attributes.
Navigation for the blind through audio-based virtual environments
2010
We present the design, development and an initial study changes and adaptations related to navigation that take place in the brain, by incorporating an Audio-Based Environments Simulator (AbES) within a neuroimaging environment. This virtual environment enables a blind user to navigate through a virtual representation of a real space in order to train his/her orientation and mobility skills. Our initial results suggest that this kind of virtual environment could be highly efficient as a testing, training and rehabilitation platform for learning and navigation.
… Applications of Bio- …, 1999
Virtual Acoustic Space (VAS) is a research and development project on the perception of space using only sound. A portable electronic prototype that allows blind people to receive spatial information of their surroundings has been developed This information is perceived via an audible image using Head Related Transfer Function (HRTFs) processed sounds. The main goal is to create for the user the illusion that the surrounding objects are covered by small sound continuously emitting sources in a particular and sustained way. Therefore, a virtual acoustic world is generated, where a physical object emit sounds from all the coordinates of its surface. Our results validate the hypothesis that, it is possible to generate an experience of global and sustained presence of diferent objects inside the perception field from these stimuli, with the same shape, dimensions and location as the real environment. Our objectives are now focused on: a better delimitation of the observed capabilities, the study of the developed prototype in everyday life conditions, on exploring how blindpeople learn to use new strategies to improve their perception ofthe environment and the exploration of the possible cortical brain areas involved in this process, usingfunctional imaging techniques.
Navigation within a closed environment requires analysis of a variety of acoustic cues, a task that is well developed in many visually impaired individuals, and for which sighted individuals rely almost entirely on visual information. Focusing on the needs of the blind, the creation of cognitive maps for spaces such as home or office buildings can be a long process, for which the individual may repeat various paths numerous times. While this action is typically performed by the individual on-site, it is of some interest to investigate to what point this task can be performed offsite, at the individual's discretion. In short, is it possible for an individual to learn an architectural environment without being physically present? If so, such a system could prove beneficial for preparing for navigation in new and unknown environments. A comparison of three learning scenarios has been performed: in-situ real displacement, passive playback of recorded navigation (binaural and Ambisonic), and active navigation in virtual auditory environment architecture. For all conditions, only acoustic cues are employed. This research is the result of collaboration between researchers in psychology and acoustics on the issue of interior spatial cognition. PACS no. 43.55.Ka, 43.66.Pn