Uploaded April 2014 | Updated September 2026, 11 hours ago
A blind female subject, Chmutal, demonstrates use of the vOICe sensory substitution device. In a study published in Current Biology, neuroscientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem used a “sensory substitution device” dubbed "the vOICe" (Oh, I See!) to enable congenitally blind patients to see using sound. The device translates visual images into brief bursts of music, which the participants then learn to decode. Over a series of training sessions they learn, for example, that a short, loud synthesizer sound signifies a vertical line, while a longer burst equates to a horizontal one. Ascending and descending tones reflect the corresponding directions, and pitch and volume relay details about elevation and brightness. Layering these sound qualities and playing several in sequence (each burst lasts about one second) thus gradually builds an image as simple as a basic shape or as complex as a landscape.
Read the full story at: discovermagazine.com/health/blind-sight-the-next-generation-of-sensory-substitution-technology
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Credit: Ella Striem-Amit & Amir Amedi. 17 March 2014. Visual Cortex Extrastriate Body-Selective Area Activation in Congenitally Blind People “Seeing” by Using Sounds. VOLUME 24, ISSUE 6, P687-692. DOI:doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.02.010
Video courtesy of lab of Professor Amir Amedi.
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A blind female subject, Chmutal, demonstrates use of the vOICe sensory substitution device. In a study published in Current Biology, neuroscientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem used a “sensory substitution device” dubbed "the vOICe" (Oh, I See!) to enable congenitally blind patients to see using sound. The device translates visual images into brief bursts of music, which the participants then learn to decode. Over a series of training sessions they learn, for example, that a short, loud synthesizer sound signifies a vertical line, while a longer burst equates to a horizontal one. Ascending and descending tones reflect the corresponding directions, and pitch and volume relay details about elevation and brightness. Layering these sound qualities and playing several in sequence (each burst lasts about one second) thus gradually builds an image as simple as a basic shape or as complex as a landscape.
Read the full story at: discovermagazine.com/health/blind-sight-the-next-generation-of-sensory-substitution-technology
—
Credit: Ella Striem-Amit & Amir Amedi. 17 March 2014. Visual Cortex Extrastriate Body-Selective Area Activation in Congenitally Blind People “Seeing” by Using Sounds. VOLUME 24, ISSUE 6, P687-692. DOI:doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.02.010
Video courtesy of lab of Professor Amir Amedi.
—
ABOUT DISCOVER:
Discover is your source for science that matters, makes sense and is a lot of fun, too.
Visit us at: discovermagazine.com
FOLLOW US:
Facebook: facebook.com/DiscoverMag
Twitter: twitter.com/DiscoverMag
Instagram: instagram.com/discover.magazine
SUPPORT US:
Subscribe to Discover: bit.ly/34seAFT
Sign up for our newsletter: discovermagazine.com/newsletter-signup
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STAY CURIOUS!
