Can humans 'see' using echolocation ?

Posted on Saturday, 3 August, 2013 | Comment icon

Image credit: sxc.hu

A team of researchers has developed an echolocation system that could enable a person to see using sound.

In the natural world echolocation is used by animals such as bats and dolphins as a way to locate and identify objects around them. Researcher Ivan Dokmanic and his team in Switzerland have been putting this idea to use in a computer-based echolocation system in the hope of using sound to 'see' the layout of a room. The setup uses a series of microphones and a computer that can pick up any sounds and then determine from that what the shape of the room is.

Dokmanic and his team hope that the technology could eventually be used by blind people to help them pick up more information about their surroundings. "I hope not too long - but the realistic horizon is two years to get something that's really usable by everyone," he said.

"Birds do it. Bats do it."

View: Full article |

Source: NPR

Discuss: View comments (16)

<< Previous story
Can a dead person be revived after 24 hours?

Next story >>
Baboon mass hysteria baffles zoo workers

Recent comments on this story

#7 Posted by Elfin on 3 August, 2013, 12:43

ah. ok. it's easy enough for a blind person to "see" inside their own homes, they build very sophisticated mental maps in their minds of where everything is, but a sighted person trying to move around their house in the dark will spend most of their time bumping into stuff and cursing the gods! the guy in question wasn't blind from birth, but developed blindness, and downhill racing was a passion of his. when he was no longer able to continue, this naturally depressed him until a team of scientists came up with the system (it was very rudimentary- it fitted onto a pair of glasses and sent out ... [More]

#8 Posted by Rolci on 3 August, 2013, 12:57

Tech is not necessary if you're used to doing it. Quite correct. For those that are not aware, there are people who use echolocation at a masterful level in their everyday lives for orientation and judging the position of nearby and even remote objects. Anyone can learn it. Like "the boy who sees without eyes" on Extraordinary People. Nothing new to see here people, it's all been done before.

#9 Posted by shrooma on 3 August, 2013, 13:07

Sounds like a really good development then. . if it improves the quality of life for the blind, it can only be a good thing! . It works by clicking the tongue. It's possible to get an idea of one's surroundings up to about 10 metres. . with the ears & throat being connected, wouldn't clicking the fingers work better? it might negate the possibility of masking/feedback and make the system a little more sensitive....?

#10 Posted by Elfin on 3 August, 2013, 14:28

. with the ears & throat being connected, wouldn't clicking the fingers work better? it might negate the possibility of masking/feedback and make the system a little more sensitive....? No the tongue definitely works best.

#11 Posted by Mbyte on 3 August, 2013, 17:39

We can do this already!! We don't need technology to do it for us. Three blind people have learned to do this already. My theory is that we have to be aware that we can do it and then activly practice trying to do it. Then eventually the unconscious parts of our mind will eventually notice the reacurring patterns in sound and will develop a type of mapping. I've seriously considered trying to do it and blog about it

#12 Posted by Elfin on 3 August, 2013, 18:07

#13 Posted by Mbyte on 5 August, 2013, 4:23

Not just three. Almost everyone who is born blind does this. It is something that comes naturally. Well maybe so but obviously science doesn't know this because we wouldn't be developing technology to do this for us then

#14 Posted by SkepticalB on 5 August, 2013, 4:35

Or the technology is being developed for people who weren't born blind but become blind later. Or it makes the ecco location sharper

#15 Posted by Elfin on 5 August, 2013, 7:39

Or the technology is being developed for people who weren't born blind but become blind later. Or it makes the ecco location sharper Yes, that's exactly right.

#16 Posted by Wickian on 5 August, 2013, 9:05

I remember watching a documentary about blind people riding bikes and such by using echolocation. I can't remember the details, but they mainly used hand-held clickers so they wouldn't have to occupy their mouths and could tell if they were near an object or not. With a bit of familiarity with the area and common sense they could identify trees, walls, bushes, people and such. It's probably some genetic remnant our bodies have kept just in case we ever need to use it again.

Click here to view all 16 comments on this story

Please Login or Register to post a comment.

On the forums

Enter forum

Forum posts:
Forum topics:
Members:

5775379
261812
162694

Dreams & Consciousness

wild dream last night

Have I proven astral projection???

I'm going to die at the age of 26

Ghosts, Hauntings & The Paranormal

Moose Lodge Bar

I know your a ghost but can we be friends?

Ghost

Science & Technology

Tech giants team up to form AI ethics board

Scientists Catch Schr�dinger�s Cat on Camera

NAD+ to make us live centuries?

Ancient Mysteries & Alternative History

Can one prove advanced tech for the pyramids?

Dismissed cultural site that changes history

Ancient Mysteries

US Politics

Trumps Tax Returns.

The Presidential Debate - LIVE

Why is Clinton's health being ignored?

Science & Technology

Tech giants team up to form AI ethics board
9-29-2016
Several major technology companies have joined forces in an effort to prevent an AI-fuelled apocalypse.

Spirituality

Catholic Church: 'exorcists in urgent demand'
9-29-2016
A rise in occult and superstitious practices has allegedly brought about a major exorcist shortage.

Cryptozoology

'Bigfoot' picked up on live eagle nest webcam
9-29-2016
A live feed from an eagle's nest in Michigan has recorded a mysterious figure wandering around below.

Space & Astronomy

SpaceX plans to send humans to Mars by 2022
9-28-2016
Elon Musk has outlined his extraordinarily ambitious plans to make mankind an interplanetary species.

Other news in this category

Tech giants team up to form AI ethics board

Posted 9-29-2016 | 0 comments
Several major technology companies have joined forces in an effort to prevent an AI-fuelled apocalypse....

Melting glaciers could expose Cold War base

Posted 9-27-2016 | 6 comments
A secret US facility hidden beneath the ice is believed to contain significant amounts of nuclear waste....

Police in Russia 'arrest' activist robot

Posted 9-25-2016 | 6 comments
Police officers attempted to handcuff the contraption while it was recording data about voter opinions....

This year's Ig Nobel Prize winners announced

Posted 9-23-2016 | 0 comments
It's time once again to recognize some of the most unique and peculiar research projects ever undertaken....

Facebook CEO aims to rid world of all disease

Posted 9-23-2016 | 22 comments
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife have pledged $3 billion towards the ultimate goal of 'ending all illness'....

Turkish engineers build real-life Transformer

Posted 9-22-2016 | 12 comments
Shape-shifting robots have become a reality thanks to the creation of this incredible transforming car....

How much energy remains within the Earth ?

Posted 9-20-2016 | 7 comments
How long will it be before the Earth essentially 'dies' and all active processes grind to a halt ?...

1920s plan sought to drain the Mediterranean

Posted 9-18-2016 | 9 comments
A prominent German architect once proposed joining Africa and Europe by draining the Mediterranean Sea....

Human babies can be created using skin cells

Posted 9-13-2016 | 49 comments
Scientists have found a way for two men to reproduce without the need for any female egg at all....

USS Zumwalt sets sail under Capt. James Kirk

Posted 9-9-2016 | 15 comments
The state-of-the-art ship has 'boldly' ventured out on the 50th anniversary of the Star Trek TV series....

Scientists discover starchy 'sixth taste'

Posted 9-6-2016 | 2 comments
New research has revealed that we are actually able to detect six, rather than five distinct tastes....

View: More news in this category