Oh, I see!

Science and Environment – Pod Academy

The vOICe technology is a computer programme that helps blind people see with sound. The software scans and converts visual information from a camera into a coded soundscape, which can be interpreted as a sort of ‘synthetic vision’ – effectively allowing the user to see with their ears!

Dr Peter Meijer

Developed by Dutch engineer Dr Peter Meijer, the vOICe makes use of what is known as ‘sensory-substitution’, in which information from one sense is sent to the brain via another. In doing this, blind users can learn how to decode spatial information from the bizarre and complex soundscapes produced by the vOICe.

The software is currently freely available and can be used with virtually any imaging device, from webcams to camera-mounted glasses – there’s even an android version available for mobile devices! Now, with the increasing prevalence of mobile computing, the vOICe technology is liberating users from their blindness, allowing them to step outside and experience the world through a completely new visual perspective.

This experimental piece produced by Ed Prosser playfully explores the science and technology behind the vOICe and looks at how it has changed the lives of its blind users. The piece features blind user Pat Fletcher, the vOICe’s creator Dr Peter Mejir and cognitive psychologist Dr Michael Proulx.

For more information visit: http://www.seeingwithsound.com/, you can also listen to a collection images as heard through the vOICe over at Ed’s blog

Music

1. Hypermagic – Start Again Start
2. Ed Prosser – Untitled
3. – – b31
4. No Color – L’Aube
5. Hpermagic – Pico Bisco
6. Ed Prosser – Untitled
7. Marcel Pequel – Four

Freesound Credits (freesoundarchive.com)

1. Alarm Clock – 14262__xyzr-kx__alarm-clock
2. Camera Shutter – 16071__heigh-hoo__nikonf4
3. Data sound – 3647__suonho__futuretrocomputing-10-suonho

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