2013 Volume 6 Issue 2 Pages 66-74
People with visual impairments require training to perceive their surroundings from ambient sounds. The author developed a system, introduced to rehabilitation facilities, that allows training to be conducted in a safe virtual environment. To realize this system, the author carried out fundamental research on the mechanism of auditory orientation; developed basic technologies to simulate 3-D sound; and designed hardware and software to calculate 3-D sound, as well as head position and direction. A training curriculum was also developed. The effectiveness of the training system was evaluated, and certified as being more effective than the existing real-environmental training system. However, some problems with calculating head position and direction must be addressed before this system can be completely introduced to rehabilitation facilities. While we are currently working to resolve this problem, the training system in its present state is being distributed as a simplified version to the people concerned since September, 2010, and is being actively used.
