2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
The study of Sound Localizability Examined as a Function of Degree and Time of Onset of Visual Impairment and Application of the Results to Assistive Devices for Orientation and Mobility
| Project/Area Number |
23300212
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Rehabilitation science/Welfare engineering
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| Research Institution | Okayama Prefectural University |
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Principal Investigator |
TAUCHI Masaki 岡山県立大学, 保健福祉学部, 教授 (00075425)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
中村 孝文 岡山県立大学 (70144061)
大倉 元宏 成蹊大学 (30119341)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2011-04-01 – 2014-03-31
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| Keywords | 音源定位 / エコロケーション / 全盲 / ロービジョン / 移動 / O&M / 音響信号機 |
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| Research Abstract |
When visual function is impaired, tactile and auditory senses work as visual substitution. The reality about what is the behavioral performance being done by audition alone is not clear yet. In this study, we investigated two aspects of the sound localization of the visually impaired. Since low vision person's sound localization is lower than totally blind, one will ask whether improvement in the skill by training is possible and whether it is maintainable or not. The other is a disturbance of sound localization to the target sound by other sound. In the former experiment, it was found that sound localizing skill of the sighted subjects increased by doing feedback training of a short period, but it disappeared within a few months when training was severed. In the latter experiment, it was found that when participants were exposed to the extra sound together with a target sound, they showed a tendency to indicate the location of target sound toward the opposite side of the extra sound.
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