The Effect of Extended Sensory Range via the EyeCane Sensory Substitution Device on the Characteristics of Visionless Virtual Navigation

Maidenbaum, Shachar; Levy-Tzedek, Shelly; Chebat, Daniel-Robert; Namer-Furstenberg, Rinat; Amedi, Amir

doi:10.1163/22134808-00002463

Cited by 24 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…The range is set by the user or the device itself and information is converted to an auditory signal that can effectively convey distance from the object to the user (Hughes, 2001 ; Sohl-Dickstein et al, 2014 ) and inform locomotion (Kolarik et al 2014a , b ). Other devices that translate visual patterns into sound have been demonstrated to provide the user with effective distance information and guide motor performance, including the “prosthesis substituting vision with audition” (PSVA, Renier et al, 2005 ), the vOICe (the middle three letters stand for “oh I see"; Meijer, 1992 ), and the EyeCane (Maidenbaum et al, 2013 ; Maidenbaum et al, 2014 ). SSDs have high potential to increase the spatial awareness of the blind and have been utilized in the laboratory to identify multimodal brain areas for depth processing (Renier et al, 2005 ) and to investigate neural plasticity arising as a consequence of visual loss (De Volder et al, 1999 ).…”

Section: Effect Of Visual Loss On Auditory Distance Perceptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Auditory distance perception in humans: a review of cues, development, neuronal bases, and effects of sensory loss

Kolarik

Moore

Zahorik

et al. 2015

Atten Percept Psychophys

214

172

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Auditory distance perception plays a major role in spatial awareness, enabling location of objects and avoidance of obstacles in the environment. However, it remains under-researched relative to studies of the directional aspect of sound localization. This review focuses on the following four aspects of auditory distance perception: cue processing, development, consequences of visual and auditory loss, and neurological bases. The several auditory distance cues vary in their effective ranges in peripersonal and extrapersonal space. The primary cues are sound level, reverberation, and frequency. Nonperceptual factors, including the importance of the auditory event to the listener, also can affect perceived distance. Basic internal representations of auditory distance emerge at approximately 6 months of age in humans. Although visual information plays an important role in calibrating auditory space, sensorimotor contingencies can be used for calibration when vision is unavailable. Blind individuals often manifest supranormal abilities to judge relative distance but show a deficit in absolute distance judgments. Following hearing loss, the use of auditory level as a distance cue remains robust, while the reverberation cue becomes less effective. Previous studies have not found evidence that hearing-aid processing affects perceived auditory distance. Studies investigating the brain areas involved in processing different acoustic distance cues are described. Finally, suggestions are given for further research on auditory distance perception, including broader investigation of how background noise and multiple sound sources affect perceived auditory distance for those with sensory loss.

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Section: Effect Of Visual Loss On Auditory Distance Perceptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Auditory distance perception in humans: a review of cues, development, neuronal bases, and effects of sensory loss

Kolarik

Moore

Zahorik

et al. 2015

Atten Percept Psychophys

214

172

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Chebat et al [ 10 ] showed that blind participants and blindfolded-sighted controls could use the Eyecane to navigate through real and virtual mazes. In virtual environments, the increased sensory range of 5 m provided by a virtual Eyecane allowed participants to take shorter navigation paths and make fewer collisions than when a virtual white cane was used [ 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Echoic Sensory Substitution Information in a Single Obstacle Circumvention Task

et al. 2016

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Accurate motor control is required when walking around obstacles in order to avoid collisions. When vision is unavailable, sensory substitution can be used to improve locomotion through the environment. Tactile sensory substitution devices (SSDs) are electronic travel aids, some of which indicate the distance of an obstacle using the rate of vibration of a transducer on the skin. We investigated how accurately such an SSD guided navigation in an obstacle circumvention task. Using an SSD, 12 blindfolded participants navigated around a single flat 0.6 x 2 m obstacle. A 3-dimensional Vicon motion capture system was used to quantify various kinematic indices of human movement. Navigation performance under full vision was used as a baseline for comparison. The obstacle position was varied from trial to trial relative to the participant, being placed at two distances 25 cm to the left, right or directly ahead. Under SSD guidance, participants navigated without collision in 93% of trials. No collisions occurred under visual guidance. Buffer space (clearance between the obstacle and shoulder) was larger by a factor of 2.1 with SSD guidance than with visual guidance, movement times were longer by a factor of 9.4, and numbers of velocity corrections were larger by a factor of 5 (all p<0.05). Participants passed the obstacle on the side affording the most space in the majority of trials for both SSD and visual guidance conditions. The results are consistent with the idea that SSD information can be used to generate a protective envelope during locomotion in order to avoid collisions when navigating around obstacles, and to pass on the side of the obstacle affording the most space in the majority of trials.

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“…In fact, virtual mazes can, in and of themselves, be used as a rehabilitation tool, for at-home training to navigate through an unfamiliar environment, for individuals with visual impairment (e.g., [ 11 ]). In this scenario, visual information is conveyed via sounds, in what is termed "sensory substitution" (e.g., [ 13 – 14 , 18 – 19 ]). It has been demonstrated that learning of new environments in the virtual realm transfers to the corresponding real-world setting [ 11 , 15 , 20 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aging and Sensory Substitution in a Virtual Navigation Task

et al. 2016

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Virtual environments are becoming ubiquitous, and used in a variety of contexts–from entertainment to training and rehabilitation. Recently, technology for making them more accessible to blind or visually impaired users has been developed, by using sound to represent visual information. The ability of older individuals to interpret these cues has not yet been studied. In this experiment, we studied the effects of age and sensory modality (visual or auditory) on navigation through a virtual maze. We added a layer of complexity by conducting the experiment in a rotating room, in order to test the effect of the spatial bias induced by the rotation on performance. Results from 29 participants showed that with the auditory cues, it took participants a longer time to complete the mazes, they took a longer path length through the maze, they paused more, and had more collisions with the walls, compared to navigation with the visual cues. The older group took a longer time to complete the mazes, they paused more, and had more collisions with the walls, compared to the younger group. There was no effect of room rotation on the performance, nor were there any significant interactions among age, feedback modality and room rotation. We conclude that there is a decline in performance with age, and that while navigation with auditory cues is possible even at an old age, it presents more challenges than visual navigation.

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The Effect of Extended Sensory Range via the EyeCane Sensory Substitution Device on the Characteristics of Visionless Virtual Navigation

Cited by 24 publications

References 26 publications

Auditory distance perception in humans: a review of cues, development, neuronal bases, and effects of sensory loss

Auditory distance perception in humans: a review of cues, development, neuronal bases, and effects of sensory loss

Echoic Sensory Substitution Information in a Single Obstacle Circumvention Task

Aging and Sensory Substitution in a Virtual Navigation Task

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