Science & Technology

Could whiskers help the blind to see ?

By T.K. Randall
November 6, 2012 ·  6 comments

Image Credit: CC 3.0 AlexK100 Researchers conducted an experiment in which blindfolded volunteers had a plastic 'whisker' with position and force sensors attached to each hand. The volunteers were sat in a chair with two vertical poles located on either side of them and then asked to reach out and determine which of the poles was the furthest forward. As the experiment progressed the displacement between the poles was shortened until the volunteers were unable to distinguish any difference.

The results indicated that the volunteers had been able to get to grips with their new whisker sensors very quickly. "Both sight and touch are based on arrays of receptors that scan the outside world in an active manner," said Prof. Ehud Ahissar. "Our findings reveal some new principles of active sensing, and show us that activating a new artificial sense in a 'natural' way can be very efficient."[!gad]Researchers conducted an experiment in which blindfolded volunteers had a plastic 'whisker' with position and force sensors attached to each hand. The volunteers were sat in a chair with two vertical poles located on either side of them and then asked to reach out and determine which of the poles was the furthest forward. As the experiment progressed the displacement between the poles was shortened until the volunteers were unable to distinguish any difference.

The results indicated that the volunteers had been able to get to grips with their new whisker sensors very quickly. "Both sight and touch are based on arrays of receptors that scan the outside world in an active manner," said Prof. Ehud Ahissar. "Our findings reveal some new principles of active sensing, and show us that activating a new artificial sense in a 'natural' way can be very efficient."

Source: Science Daily | Comments (6)

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