Seeing-Eye Software
by Kristen Philipkoski
3:00 a.m. 24.Nov.98.PST
A new software program aims to help people see with their ears.
Peter Meijer, of the Philips Research Laboratories in the Netherlands, built Voice Learning Edition software to translate video into high-definition stereo sound in close to real time.
Voice requires the user to learn a whole new language of subtle sounds. Noises change pitch and resonance if a color is bright or a building is close, so the user must be able to distinguish between nuances of sound.
Meijer set up an online program for the blind to help him evaluate Voice. He also gets feedback from an evaluation project at the Institute for Innovative Blind Navigation.
"Talking to blind users directly is very valuable [in order] to guide further technical progress," he said. But the Internet offered Meijer a whole new approach to testing tools for the blind.
"In the past, we first had to convince institutions for the blind that the proposed approach could be interesting, which often led only to discussing opinions about what needs and interests the blind may have," he said. "Today, we can communicate directly with potential blind users, and let them decide ... whether they are interested."
Based on the feedback, Meijer said he continuously improves the system and is now working to help users understand Voice's language.
Nolan Crabb, a spokesman for the American Council of the Blind, said he believes Voice is well-intended, but he isn't convinced of its practicality.
"This would be better for people who lose their sight than for people who were blind always," said Crabb, who was born blind. He added that walking around with headphones could be dangerous for blind people.
"You still need a lot of your hearing to know what the world is doing around you, to hear things like traffic, construction," he said.
In 1993, Meijer came out with the prototype for Voice -- a helmet-like, mono-sound piece of hardware. It never went into production.
The latest version, released in January, functions on Windows and requires a PC camera, a Pentium processor, and stereo headphones. While the accessories may seem prohibitive, the software is free to download.
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