Development on Virtual Three Dimensional Acoustic Environment Presentation System for Training of Crossing Driveways by Blind Pedestrians

Abstract

We are developing “virtual acoustic environment, ” in which listeners hear a car crossing in front of them and judge the right time to cross a driveway. People with severe visual impairment (referred to as the blind) have to make a lot of effort to travel independently because they have difficulty crossing a driveways. We conducted a preliminary experiment to demonstrate that the reverberation and reflection of sound is an effective way of judging the arrival time of car. Ten sighted subjects were asked to listen to a car passing by them in the virtual acoustic environment and press a computer button when they perceived the car passing in front of them. The results of this study suggested that reverberation and reflection of sound is useful for blind in perceiving when crossing driveways is safe. The system we are developing and findings obtained from the psychoacoustic experiments will be used to develop education and rehabilitation programs at the school for the blind.