Spatial navigation with horizontally spatialized sounds in early and late blind individuals.

ABSTRACT: 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 bli

SUBMITTER: Pare S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7909643 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature