Visual-to-auditory sensory substitution is used to convey visual information through audition, and it was initially created to compensate for blindness; it consists of software converting the visual images captured by a video-camera into the equivalent auditory images, or “soundscapes”. Here, it was used by blindfolded sighted participants to learn the spatial position of simple shapes depicted in images arranged on the floor. Very few studies have used sensory substitution to investigate spatial representation, while it has been widely used to investigate object recognition. Additionally, with sensory substitution we could study the performance of participants actively exploring the environment through audition, rather than passively localizing sound sources. Blindfolded participants egocentrically learnt the position of six images by using sensory substitution and then a judgment of relative direction task (JRD) was used to determine how this scene was represented. This task consists of imagining being in a given location, oriented in a given direction, and pointing towards the required image. Before performing the JRD task, participants explored a map that provided allocentric information about the scene. Although spatial exploration was egocentric, surprisingly we found that performance in the JRD task was better for allocentric perspectives. This suggests that the egocentric representation of the scene was updated. This result is in line with previous studies using visual and somatosensory scenes, thus supporting the notion that different sensory modalities produce equivalent spatial representation(s). Moreover, our results have practical implications to improve training methods with sensory substitution devices (SSD).

The brain has evolved in this multisensory context to perceive the world in an integrated fashion. Although there are good reasons to be skeptical of the influence of cognition on perception, here we argue that the study of sensory substitution devices might reveal that perception and cognition are not necessarily distinct, but rather continuous aspects of our information processing capacities.

Visual-to-auditory sensory substitution devices (SSDs) provides improved access to the visual environment for the visually impaired by converting images into auditory information. Research is lacking on the mechanisms involved in processing data that is perceived through one sensory modality, but directly associated with a source in a different sensory modality. SSDs may be similar to reading, as an image (printed word) is converted into sound (when read aloud). Reading, and language more generally, are typically lateralised to the left cerebral hemisphere. Yet, unlike symbolic written language, SSDs convert images to sound based on visuospatial properties, with the right cerebral hemisphere potentially having a role in processing such visuospatial data. Here we investigated whether there is a hemispheric bias in the processing of visual-to-auditory sensory substitution information and whether that varies as a function of expertise and visual ability. We assessed the lateralisation of auditory processing with two tests: a standard dichotic listening test and a novel dichotic listening test created using the auditory information produced by an SSD, The vOICe. Although standard dichotic listening is lateralised to the left hemisphere, the auditory processing of images in SSDs is bilateral, possibly due to the increased influence of right hemisphere processing.

In recent years there has been renewed focus on workplace design and its impact on workers’ productivity and satisfaction, particularly in open plan offices. Extensive research has been conducted to date on the topic of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ). Here we sought to understand how perceived personal space is influenced by a number of variables that could influence IEQ; specifically, we tested how different levels of social density, spatial density, environmental noise presence, and type of view impact the appreciation of personal space in a shared office environment. We employed virtual reality (VR) technology to simulate shared and single occupancy offices and tested a sample of 60 participants over three experiments. We devised a novel measure of personal space estimation using a virtual disc around the participant which could be extended and retracted to indicate the perceived amount of personal space. We also used a traditional personal space satisfaction score. We found that participants experienced greater perceived personal space when 1) in a sparse rather than a dense office, 2) in a private office rather than an open plan office, and 3) having any view outside of the office. We did not find an effect of the presence of noise or increased social density (with spatial density held constant) on the perception of personal space. The results confirmed that simulated personal space in a VR environment can elicit natural, realistic responses of perceptions of spatial dimensions and that the features of the virtual office determine individual levels of personal space.