The vOICe Visual-Auditory Sensory Substitution Technology in the Depth Perception Task

Abstract

Sensory substitution represents an opportunity to experience visual-like perception for the visually impaired people. However, the effects of sensory substitution perception, and, in particular, the depth perception, are less known. The study aimed to evaluate the influence of one of the monocular depth cues-linear perspective, on the accuracy of object localization using The vOICe visual-auditory sensory substitution technology. 32 sighted volunteers, who were blindfolded during the experiment, participated in the study. The sample was divided into 2 groups, one of which used a linear perspective in the form of vertical stripes as an additional depth cue. In each of the two groups, positive dynamics in spatial localization accuracy was observed in the post-test session. Another finding was that the group with linear perspective as a depth cue showed greater absolute deviation on both pre-and post-test sessions. Subjects in both groups tended to overestimate the distance to the manipulated cube. On average, both groups tended to overestimate distance in depth more than in width, but the group with linear perspective had greater overestimation both in depth and in width.