Inherent Problems of Attempts to Apply Sonar and Vibrotactile Sensory Aid Technology to the Perceptual Needs of the Blind

Abstract

A program of research dealing with two types of sensory aids for the blind--sonar and vibrotactile--is described. Rather than immediately assessing the aids in the mobility context, which has customarily been the case, the aids' capabilities are considered in terms of the major functions of vision, that is, the exteroceptive perception of objects, surfaces, and events of the environment, and the proprioceptive perception of the self, especially the self in relation to the environment. Although sonar aids function very well for localizing objects and for providing acoustic flow specifying self-movement, they do not provide high acuity pattern and shape information due to the long wavelength of ultrasound relative to light. This limitation is considered specifically with respect to the visual accomplishment of recovery of three-dimensional structure/motion from dynamic two-dimensional images. Vibrotactile sensory aids using optical imaging can deliver detailed pattern information to the skin and thus permit assessment of the extent to which a nonvisual system can mediate the recovery of structure problem. However, in even moderately cluttered or complicated environments the skin proves unable to resolve the amount of stimulation it receives vibrotactually. The limitations of sonar and vibrotactile sensory aids are discussed with respect to future sensory substitution efforts as well as their implications for understanding differences and similarities among the senses.