Abstract
Much research has been done worldwide on support equipments for visually impaired persons. However, there is a paucity of research on how to represent real–time information that changes around a user. In this paper, we introduce a user–friendly equipment that assists its user in space perception utilizing his/her auditory sense and operational feeling. In this study, we use ″space perception″ to refer to the user′s recognition of obstacles around him/her. The device converts the distance between the user and an obstacle into different sounds making use of infrared ray system. This portable device can be held in one hand and informs its user of the location of an obstacle including its direction and distance by sounding different tones. The proposed equipment is not only useful for visually handicapped people but can be used in regions where infrastructure is insufficient and when the situation around its user changes in real time. The results of our experiments conducted in a limited space confirmed the effectiveness of this equipment and showed that the user was able to perceive shapes of obstacles.
