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Sonar device Helps Blind Navigate

Posted by Hemos on from the interesting-applications dept.

Anonymous Coward writes "The Courier-Journal in Louisville is running a story today about a new handheld sonar device that lets blind people "see" by hearing. It gives audio feedback that changes in pitch according to the distance of objects. The story begins... "Fred Gissoni, who has been blind since birth, was using a hand-held sonar device to examine his back yard when a bird landed on a wire. The device began emitting tones, and Gissoni could tell where the bird was and how it moved. He even noticed the quivering of the wire.""

4 of 17 comments (clear)

  1. Inevitable minaturization, etc... by Shag · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Presumably at some point this will be miniaturized to the point that it can be built into something the size of a couple hearing aids, or at worst a pair of headphones? It could be useful not just for the blind and vision-impaired, but also for people who have to work in dark or opaque environments (off the top of my head, fire rescue in thick smoke, etc).

    --
    Village idiot in some extremely smart villages.
  2. I've seen these by Naikrovek · · Score: 4, Interesting

    when I lived in Australia I was on a commuter train from Campbelltown to Sydney and I noticed a guy get on somewhere along the way and use a device like this to find an empty seat. he had gauze patches over both eyes so I know he wasn't faking that he was blind.

    he held a cane in one hand and this device in the other. He pointed it right at my face and i got a good look at it. at the time i remember thinking it was a sonar device of some kind, as it had what appeared to be an emitter and reciever, and he had headphones plugged into it. he would point it at a seat, and if someone was sitting there or there was garbage on the seat he would move to the next. didn't take long for him to find a seat that was empty. In fact he was seated before the train started moving. It wasn't rush-hour so it didn't take long for the train to start moving.

    anyway i was impressed with it and wondered why i hadn't seen any before or after. maybe he was a beta tester?

  3. Down the road by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I've had fanciful thoughts about such a device in the past. Although, my imaginary version used a tactile rather than audible map. Perhaps a hand-sized rubber membrane with dynamic contours used to partray the near area. Any takers?

  4. ... as a bat by Meetch · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I saw a small science piece some years ago, not sure if it was a science oriented show or an interest piece on the news, about a "human bat". This guy did his own version of sonar by making clicking sounds with his tongue, and his ears were attuned well enough for him to reliably echo sound. He could even ride his bike on the road, navigating around obstacles, as long as the traffic wasn't too heavy...

    That's as I recall - anyone else out there have any further details?