Blind People will be made to SEE with Sounds!

The system, developed by scientists at the University of Oxford, involves teaching the blind to associate a series of sounds with different shapes.

Blind volunteers fitted with the device were able to visualise objects placed in front of them, using parts of the brain which, in sighted people, are used for receiving information from the eyes.

The system uses a camera that can be mounted into a pair of glasses and takes pictures of items in front of the wearer. The images are then analysed by a computer that converts the angles and length of lines into a series of sounds of varying pitch, tone and volume. Over several weeks the patients are trained to recognise different objects using the sounds.

In a series of early experiments, blind and sighted volunteers were asked to identify objects placed on a table in front of them. The researchers found that both groups were able to accurately describe the objects in front of them.

The research, which is still to published, raises the prospect of allowing blind patients to navigate their way around a room and regain their ability to get a picture of the world around them.