University of Bath researchers have embarked on studies into how blind people can gather information about their surroundings using other senses such as sound and touch.
The research was aiming to shape new technology for visually-impaired patients, which will be further tested by the university.
Initial studies compared sighted, congenitally blind and late-blind individuals on a number of fundamental cognitive tasks, and uncovered key differences in how the congenitally blind perceive and represent the world compared to those who have had visual experience.
‘What we found is sighted individuals build up a map-like representation of where the objects are in relation to each other. Congenitally blind individuals instead learn the relationship of the objects with the starting point that they took. So instead of having a map-like view they have a view centred on where they began,’ said University of Bath researcher Dr Michael Proulx.
Researchers from the Department of Psychology collaborated with computer scientists for the university project, which will use findings to create computer software applications.
‘We are working with computer scientists, to at first just understand the basic psychology of blindness, and understand how blind people might be able to use their remaining intact senses to receive information they might otherwise be receiving through vision,’ added Proulx.
Early tests on a sensory substitution device called the Voice, which helps blind people use sounds to build an image in their minds of the things around them, suggested its best performances exceeded those of current invasive techniques for vision restoration.