Computer Program Allows the Blind to 'See' With Sound

Bats and dolphins use echolocation to 'see'. As sound waves bounce off of the world around them, these animals can reconstruct an image of their environment. Researchers at Hebrew University have found that individuals born unable to see can be trained to 'see' bodies using soundscapes. In a new study in Current Biology, the scientists first taught the study subjects how to 'see' basic shapes, like lines and dots using musical notes and scales. From there, the researchers began to add complexities, like curves and intersections. After 70 hours of training, the study participants could correctly translate these musical notes into the shape of a human body and imitate the pose. Brain imaging revealed that listening to these soundscapes activated part of the visual cortex devoted to processing body shapes. The scientists have released an app for iPod and iPhone called EyeMusic that also uses different musical instruments to represent colors.

Read the complete article from Science (and find a link to the full text journal article) here: Computer Program Allows the Blind to 'See' With Sound