Drawing on the expertise of the blind, a University of Toronto professor claims he is "teaching" electronic devices how to navigate using surrounding sounds.
"The goal was to build a system that mimics the acoustic navigation abilities of blind people," says professor Parham Aarabi of the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering. Aarabi told NewsFactor that his system fits such devices as cell phones and handheld computers with microphones that use sounds for orientation, the same way an animal uses ears.
One instant benefit, Aarabi claims, is that cellular telephones that combine signals from tiny microphones could filter out background noise and transmit only the caller's clear voice.
|