New Radar Device Helps Blind People 'See'

greenrainbow writes "Students in Israel at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have developed new technology that allows blind people to 'see' objects around them through a simple radar system. The device consists of a computer, two video cameras, and a scanning light source; it audibly alerts the individual of objects that are in close proximity. The system scans surrounding objects and their distance from two points, much like the human eyes. Unlike current sensor canes, this new light scanning device is a hands-free system that can sense objects on the ground, overhead, and in the periphery."

Left wanting

[asukasoryu]

I found this interesting, but TFA is a little lacking. I'd still like to know how the sensory data is converted so that a blind person can use it. Does the system have a name so I can look it up?

back to the future

[Anonymous Coward]

didnt we have an article just a couple weeks ago about ocular implants becoming much more viable? being able to see, compared to having something see for you and alert you. are two totaly different things...i go for the former

Re:Why the scare quotes? They ARE seeing

[Forge]

The semantics of it hardly matter. What I want to know is:
1. Will she be able to walk down the road or throgh an unfamiliar building without the cane?
2. Will we be able to afford this new gadget?
3. Will this be streamlined enough to wear comfortably?

If I get the right answers to all those questions I'll be among the 1st slash-doters to post a review.

Traffic signals

[__roo]

A system like this shouldn't have too much trouble identifying pedestrian "walk/don't walk" traffic signals and giving an audio signal when they turn red or green. GPS locations of known traffic lights should make this even easier. That would make navigating through a city much easier for the visually impaired. There's some research in this area (link [springerlink.com], link [springerlink.com]) already, but having a system like this in place makes it much more likely for a real, usable production system to eventually end up in the hands of the people who need it.

Re:Why the scare quotes? They ARE seeing

[slashsloth]

Yes the system maps the surrounding to sounds, i.e., it is a sonfication system. The big question is: how to effectively and meaningfully map a complex, dynamic visual scene (the immediate world around a person) to sounds such that it makes sense to the listener and communicates useful information? There is a good amount of research to show that, especially those who are blind from birth, have a very distinct and unique perception on the physical world; consequently a mapping that may work for a sighted person may not be any help to a visually impaired user. There have been a number of such systems developed in the past: some based on raster scanning, mapping snapshots of the current scene to a soundscape, and others that attempt to do qualitative analysis of scene images and express these with mappings developed in conjunction with visually impaired users. In all cases the issue is mapping images to sound in such a way as makes sense to a person who has never been able to see.

Computer vision

[mmkkbb]

thevOICe [seeingwithsound.com] is a computer vision system that can actually run on Android phones.

Audible warnings?

[MaWeiTao]

Why use audible warnings? Why not use vibration. Make something like a belt or headband with cellphone-sized motors mounted around the thing. The vibrations can then indicate which direction has an obstacle. Seems more useful and more private than something beeping or talking to you.