BOSTON (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Navigating through a sighted world can be difficult for the visually impaired, but researchers are working on a device that can help them detect objects in their way through sound, not sight.
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Dolphins have it and so do bats … they detect objects and navigate by making sounds and listening for their echoes, called echolocation.
Now cognitive scientists and artificial intelligence experts are testing a man-made device that could help the visually impaired.
"It transmits sounds into the environment, ultrasonic sounds that people can hear," Cameron Morland, a cognitive scientist at Boston University, explained to Ivanhoe.
The sounds bounce off objects in the environment and are reflected back to the user in the form of clicking noises. The shapes and sizes of the objects create subtle differences in the echo, which enables the person to distinguish one object from another.
The hat consists of a speaker that emits the ultrasonic pulse that people can't hear. A microphone mounted to the side connects to a computer that shifts the frequency into a range that humans can hear.
"You hear clicking noises and depending on how far away the object is, the clicking noise is either sharper or harder or fainter further away," Adekunbi Adewunmi, a tester, explained.
Some training is needed to determine objects but beginners will be able to tell if something is in their way.
"When the sounds come back to you, they have a certain spatial aspect to them so you can tell where they came from," Morland said.
The new technology is giving the visually impaired some insight into what's happening in the world around them.
The maximum range is 13 feet. Scientists are working to get this device so small it could fit in your pocket.
The Acoustical Society of America contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.
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