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A blog dealing with sensory substitution and other esoteric concepts and technologies like speech-recognition and chaos theory

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shape recognition

It is not your vision stupid: updated thoughts on shape recognition

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I’ve often bemoaned the fact that I’m not sufficiently experienced with vision to facilitate shape recognition. Over the past year or so, I have had access to a tiger embosser from View Plus Technologies which has allowed me to print images and feel them. Surprise, surprise! I was unable to identify what those images were without context. The same is the case when I look at images using the vOICe. The vOICe renders images in two dimensions just like what the tiger does. The resolution using the vOICe is higher and since I’m wearing a head mounted setup, I can use the vOICe to explore my environment immersively. There seem to be two conditions that facilitate shape and scene recognition. The first is historical experience so, if I have experienced a shape before, I’m able to identify what it is when I look at it again. Secondly, the scene has to match my mental map that I have built either using my kinesthetic awareness or some other means. This condition I experienced this condition firsthand when I was looking at a doorway using the fisheye lens with the video glasses. I was uncomfortable when I had the narrow angle view of the doorway. However, the moment I got the fisheye lens on the glasses, I was able to perceive both sides of the doorway which I knew would be there.

I am not too sure what this means for sensory substitution and learning how to use it effectively. In all probability, what this means is that experience and mental maps need to be stressed. The modality of information delivery is not as relevant as I thought it to be.

Steps for identifying a shape with the vOICe

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I am often asked how I identify shapes with the vOICe. Here is the answer to that question.

1. Here the soundscape of a given shape.

2. Decode the soundscape using the defined sound schema of the vOICe.

3. Consider the context in which I’m listening to a soundscape.

4. If required, move my camera closer or further away from the object to get a sense of perspective.

5. Come up with an answer.

6. If required, verify the answer.

Let me illustrate this with an example.

1. I hear a soundscape. The soundscape consists of several ascending tomes.

2. Since I know the sound schema that the vOICe uses, I know that ascending tomes represent height. So, I’m looking at a series of vertical lines.

3. I now apply context. That is I consider where I’m standing. In this case, I’m standing in a balcony.

4. I now move around a little in the balcony and change the camera position. The sound does change but the vertical lines are still there.

5. At this point, I conclude that I’m probably looking at a railing that has vertical supports that move towards the floor.

6. I now with a reasonable degree of confidence walk up to the object and touch it. As luck would have it, this did indeed turn out to be a balcony railing. The railing had rods that ran from the bottom of the railing to the floor of the balcony.