Abstract
The development of various sensory substitution devices and aids for the blind has been based on the notion that the human perceptual systems are remarkably flexible in their functional capacities and that such devices, to be practically useful, need make use of the functional similarities of other perceptual systems to provide the effective information. Since their inception, optical-to-tactile conversion systems have capitalized on the qualitatively similar functional characteristics of the skin and the retina. The Optacon (Telesensory Systems, Inc.), a device which permits the blind to read printed material, is an example of a system which can be thought of as allowing a dynamic form of ‘tactile vision’ for two-dimensional displays (lines of print). The Tactile Vision Substitution System (TVSS) is an even more appealing example since it was designed to transduce more complex optical images into tactile stimulation and to be capable of providing a far greater variety of environmental information.
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Bach-y-Rita, P., Hughes, B. (1985). Tactile Vision Substitution: Some Instrumentation and Perceptual Considerations. In: Warren, D.H., Strelow, E.R. (eds) Electronic Spatial Sensing for the Blind. NATO ASI Series, vol 99. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1400-6_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1400-6_11
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