A stereo auditory display for visually impaired

According to the source from World Health Organization (WHO) as of 1990, there are, approximately, 38 million people who are blind. This paper is reporting the progress of a funded research project in an attempt to invent Malaysia's very own Electronic Travel Aid (ETA). The research is to develop an auditory display system that converts picture to sound in order to aid the blind in navigation. The experimental system consists of digital video camera, portable computer as well as earphones. The developed software functions as an extractor of data collected by the camera, processes and transforms the information into patterns of sound to indicate the presence of obstacle while user is navigating. Assessment for the system is currently being carried out at laboratory level and preliminary test has shown a success in interpreting the sound pattern generated. In future, the system is to be materialised as an integrated circuit.