Chapter 16. Sensory substitution

Abstract

A quarter of a century ago, in the preface to « Brain Mechanisms in Sensory Substitution », Paul Bach y Rita wrote: "This monograph thus risks becoming outdated in a very short time since the development of refined sensory substitution systems should allow many of the question raised here to be answered, and some of the conclusions may appear naive to future readers." (BACH Y RITA, 1972) As it turns out, this prediction is far from having been fulfilled: in spite of their scientific and social interest, their real effectiveness and a certain technological development, prosthetic devices employing the principle of "sensory substitution" are not widely used by the blind persons for whom they were originally destined. After a brief recall of the general principle of sensory substitution, we will advance several hypotheses to account for this situation. We will then identify some elements which may favour the conception and, especially, the usability of future devices. To this end, we will focus our analysis on the work of Bach-y-Rita, particularly well documented, devoted to TVSS (Tactile Vision Sensory Substitution) since the 1960's. This choice is motivated by the extensive and exemplary nature of this research, devoted to the rehabilitation of a handicapped population, as an enterprise which is both technical and scientific in character. We will also present the specific interest of substitution systems employing tactile stimulation, and we will emphasize the essential coordination of fundamental and technological research in this area. In addition, besides their direct utility for handicapped persons, these devices open broad experimental and theoretical perspectives on cognition in general (brain plasticity, perception,

Using minimal human-computer interfaces for studying the interactive development of social awareness

“…Learning how to practically engage the world via new tools, HCI, and other mediating systems 1 is associated with the emergence of new ways of being in and experiencing the world, that is, technology is conceived as anthropologically constitutive (Havelange, 2010). Some modulations are relatively subtle changes in perceptual experience (e.g., Davoli et al, 2012), while other phenomenological changes, such as those induced by one's mastery of sensory substitution systems, can be more profound (Lenay et al, 2003; Auvray and Myin, 2009). As we have observed in our research with various kinds of HCIs, the fact that skillful usage of an HCI must first be learned provides us with an opportunity to systematically investigate the development of new modes of perceptual experiencing (Froese et al, 2012).…”

Low-Cost Open Source Ultrasound-Sensing Based Navigational Support for Visually Impaired

“…In that way, the active sensing approach [11] was utilized, in which a person constantly scans the ambient environment. This method allows a user to achieve better spatial perception and accuracy [11] due to the similarity to natural sensory processes [65,66].…”

Game design for visually-impaired individuals: Creativity and innovation theories and sensory substitution devices influence on virtual and physical navigation skills

“…The programming relies on three elements (a) a sensor to capture the specific form of energy, (b) a transformation algorithm to transcode the captured information into auditory or tactile patterns, and (c) a stimulator to transfer the captured information in its new form to the user (Elli, Benetti, & Collignon, 2014). Techniques have included perceptual supplementation (Lenay, Gapenne, Hanneton, Marque, & Genouëlle, 2003) and sensorimotor extension (Aurvay & Myin, 2008) in a cross-modal approach by artificially providing information to another sense, such as hearing, touch, smell, or temperature sensing. Virtual sensory substitution devices do not have to be expensive.…”