Acoustic Touch Tech Aids Blind

Researchers from the University of Sydney Technology and the University of Sydney in Australia presented innovative technology “Acoustic touch”, which allows people with blindness or weak vision to “see” using unique sound icons. These smart glasses convert visual data into separate audio signals.

The main points:

• “Acoustic touch” converts visual signals into unique sound representations, for example, rustling for plants or buzzing for mobile phones.
• The study showed that this technology has significantly improved the ability of users with visual impairments to recognize objects without excessive mental stress.
• According to the World Health Organization, there are about 39 million blind people in the world, and another 246 million people have weak vision.

Researchers tested the device on 14 participants, seven of which had blindness or weak vision, and the remaining seven were healthy people with blindfolded eyes as a control group. They found that a wearable device with “acoustic touch” technology significantly improved the ability of people with visual impairments to recognize and achieve objects without excessive mental effort.

“Audio-fixing communication allows users to determine and achieve objects with amazing accuracy,” said Dr. Zhu. “Our results show that acoustic touch can offer an effective method of sensory expansion for a community of people with visual impairments.”

The technology of “acoustic touch” can become an integral part of auxiliary technologies, helping people interact with their environment more effectively than ever before.