A sonar aid to enhance spatial perception of the blind: engineering design and evaluation

The design of an air sonar device with a new form of binaural display is described which aids the blind in perceiving their environment. Some of the limitations of knowledge of human perception and the influence this has on a specification for the device are discussed. Inherent limitations in the binaural aid both in terms of technology development and performance are also explained. The paper described what is expected of the man-machine control system in a mobility setting and discusses the technique of evaluating a manmachinesystem so as to assess the machine performance.