Abstract
Sonification is defined as presentation of information by means of
non-speech audio. In assistive technologies for the blind, sonification is
most often used in electronic travel aids (ETAs) - devices which aid in
independent mobility through obstacle detection or help in orientation and
navigation. The presented review contains an authored classification of
various sonification schemes implemented in the most widely known ETAs.
The review covers both those commercially available and those in various
stages of research, according to the input used, level of signal
processing algorithm used and sonification methods. Additionally, a
sonification approach developed in the Naviton project is presented. The
prototype utilizes stereovision scene reconstruction, obstacle and surface
segmentation and spatial HRTF filtered audio with discrete musical sounds
and was successfully tested in a pilot study with blind volunteers in a
controlled environment, allowing to localize and navigate around obstacles.
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