AudioBattleShip: Blind learners cognition through sound

Abstract

Recent literature provides initial evidence that sound can be used for cognitive development purposes in blind children. In this paper we present the design, development, and usability testing of AudioBattleShip, a sound-based interactive environment for blind children. AudioBattleShip is an interactive version of the board Battleship game, providing different interfaces for both sighted and blind people. The interface is based on spatialized sound as a way of navigating and exploring through the environment. The application was developed upon a framework that supports the development of distributed heterogeneous applications by synchronizing only some common objects, thus allowing the easy development of interactive applications with very different interfaces. AudioBattleship was tested for cognitive tasks with blind children, evidencing that it can help to develop and rehearse abstract memory through spatial reference, spatial abstraction through concrete representations, haptic perception through constructing mental images of the virtual space, and cognitive integration of both spatial and haptic references.