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Dryad

Data from: An investigation into the effectiveness of using acoustic touch to assist people who are blind

Abstract

In this work, we explored the potential of a technique known as "acoustic touch" to assist people who are blind in finding objects. This technique is an auditory sensory augmentation paradigm that uses smart glasses to sonify objects entering the device's field of view. We developed a wearable Foveated Audio Device (FAD) to study the efficacy and usability of using acoustic touch to search, memorise, and reach items. The study involved 14 participants, 7 blind/low vision and 7 sighted blindfolded participants. We compared the wearable device to two idealised conditions, a verbal clock face description and a sequential audio presentation through external speakers. We found that the wearable device can effectively aid the recognition and reaching of an object. We also observed that the device does not significantly increase the user's cognitive workload. These promising results suggest that acoustic touch can provide a wearable and effective method of sensory augmentation.