1

'K' SONAR
The Handbook

Dealing with the Process of Using "Sound To See With" For Blind and Visually Impaired Persons

By: Leslie Kay OBE. Ph D. FRSNZ. Bay Advanced Technologies Ltd Suite 31, 7 St Vincent Avenue Remuera Auckland 1005 New Zealand

'K' Sonar The Handbook

'K' SONAR

'K' Sonar The Handbook 2

Contents
Frontispiece ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Objective ........................................................................................................................................... 5

Operating Instructions .................................................................................................................... 6 Component Parts .................................................................................................................... 6 Battery Care ............................................................................................................................ 8 Operation ................................................................................................................................ 8 Short & Long Range .............................................................................................................. 8 Volume ..................................................................................................................................... 9 Distance Discrimination......................................................................................................... 9

Basic Training Concepts ............................................................................................................... 10 Basic Abilities........................................................................................................................ 10 Training & Skills .................................................................................................................. 12 The Learning Programme ................................................................................................... 13

Exercises in Using 'K' Sonar......................................................................................................... 14 Introductory Note................................................................................................................. 14

Table Top Exercises....................................................................................................................... 15 Exercise 1 .............................................................................................................................. 15 Exercise 2 .............................................................................................................................. 16 Exercise 3 .............................................................................................................................. 17 Exercise 4 .............................................................................................................................. 18 Exercise 5 .............................................................................................................................. 19 Exercise 6 .............................................................................................................................. 20 Exercise 7 .............................................................................................................................. 20 Exercise 8 .............................................................................................................................. 21

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4 Floor Exercises ............................................................................................................................... 22 Exercise 9 .............................................................................................................................. 22 Exercise 10 ............................................................................................................................ 23 Exercise 11 ............................................................................................................................ 23 Exercise 12 ............................................................................................................................ 24 Exercise 13 ............................................................................................................................ 24 Exercise 14 ............................................................................................................................ 25 Exercise 15 ............................................................................................................................ 25 Exercise 16 ............................................................................................................................ 26 Exercise 18 ............................................................................................................................ 27 Exercise 19 ............................................................................................................................ 27 Exercise 20 ............................................................................................................................ 28

Exercises In Spatial Navigation & Landmark Recognition....................................................... 28 Parallel Walking Relative to a Straight Wall .................................................................... 29 Shorelining on a Straight Fence .......................................................................................... 30 Shorelining Alongside a Clipped Hedge............................................................................. 31 Shorelining in Shopping Areas & Recognising Landmarks or Navigation Points ............................................................ 32 Shorelining Alongside a Store Front .................................................................................. 33 Busy Shopping Street with Traffic Sounds ........................................................................ 36 Street Crossing with Traffic Lights .................................................................................... 37

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Objective
'K' Sonar is a spatial sensor using an ultrasonic echolocation bio-acoustic KASPA technology especially created for use by blind persons in order that they may "use sound to see with" . This is now called "sonocular perception" . This sophisticated auditory based ultrasonic echolocation type spatial sense is needed so that blind persons may interact knowledgeably with their environment without making physical contact with it. 'K' Sonar acts as a vision substitute. The "surrounding environment" may be at home, school, in a play area, at work, socialising, and during travel from one place to another. This Handbook is intended for anyone who can help a blind person learn to use the 'K' Sonar and learn to "see with sound". This is a dynamic, interactive, associative, learning process, which models the process of learning visual perception through maturation. The handbook gives guidance on how to teach through progressive exercises. Only blind persons can be expected to use the 'K' Sonar as a means to see. Learning the many subtle nuances of spatial perception is a continuous self-oriented process and extends over a long period of time. Sighted persons are not expected to do this since they do not have the same need. It is expected that teachers will become expert at exposing their clients knowledgeably to the process of seeing with sound so that their clients will gain maximum benefit from current knowledge. Programs of orientation and mobility for blind persons, as currently taught by O&M instructors in conjunction with the use of the long cane, will need to be expanded so as to combine the tactile, kinaesthetic, and the greatly enhanced acoustic senses in the learning process as achieved with the KASPA technology. Seeing with the 'K' Sonar enables objects to be avoided with reliable recovery of the travel path, veering to be minimised through tracking environmental features, landmarks to be located in relation to maps, and it leads to good posture and sighted-like controlled locomotion. The role of the cane changes from being the primary source of object space sensing to that of being a complementary and especially sensitive safety probe that can be optimally used in conjunction with the greater knowledge of the travel path ahead as provided by sonocular perception. The dreaded stepdown is much more easily detected through greater knowledge of ones surroundings and ones ability to read the information better. The ability to comprehend ones surroundings - like the ability to comprehend language communication - needs to be taught. The use of environmental sounds and the change in the acoustics of the environment through its varying boundaries, as one travels, remains unchanged. This skill is enhanced through the use of 'K' Sonar, because of
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6 the greater general skill that is acquired in interpreting sounds that belong invariantly to specific objects or surfaces. A users ability to echolocate develops more readily.

Operating Instructions
Component Parts
The 'K' Sonar is a small electronic travel device in the size of cell - phone. It sends out from the upper transducer a spreading beam of high frequency sound that the human ear cannot detect. This sound spreads out something like the light from an ordinary torch. Any object in that beam will reflect some of the sound back to the sonar, and the lower transducer will transform the sound echo into tiny electrical signals, which will be amplified and processed. This is so that, eventually, they can be used to produce sound in the earpiece, which will now be audible to the human ear. The most important feature of the 'K' Sonar is it not only indicates that there is something in the direction in which you point the unit, but it also gives you a clue to the distance of the object. The main difference between what you can get from the 'K' Sonar and what you can get from the cane is that the 'K' Sonar has a longer range (up to about 20 feet), while a cane gives more immediate and certain information about what is at its tip. The 'K' Sonar can be used independently or attached to the golf grip handle of a cane. It makes the cane better balanced and more easily manipulated and also reduces travel stress by detecting objects at a distance. At the same time the tip of the cane provides tactile information of the terrain one step away. To attach the sonar to a cane, place the long open channel that is on the under side of the 'K' Sonar on top of the shaft of a cane with the screen covered end of the sonar pointing toward the cane tip. Press downward. When it snaps into position slide it upward toward the golf grip handle until it is anchored securely. It must be gripped firmly. Test this by holding the sonar as a handle to the cane and waggle the cane up and down. There should be no movement between cane and the sonar. The flat part of the cane handle should then be opposite the gap in the clip and can be felt. Success in using the 'K' Sonar depends very much upon holding and moving the cane and the device carefully and accurately as is necessary for protection against unexpected dangers. The best method is to hold the 'K' Sonar at Long Arm hold with the sonar and hand near the hip joint.

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7 Here, the natural resting position of ones hand should point the 'K' Sonar dead ahead, while the wrist joints prevent rapid or wide angular sweeps from left to right. Another important aspect of holding the 'K' Sonar is the angle of the beam relative to the ground. If the sonar is held level the spreading beam touches the ground 3-m ahead, and echoes from the ground are barely discernible in this case. However, if you point the 'K' Sonar down even a little, echoes from the ground may become quite noticeable. The length of the cane should be chosen to insure the sonar beam is horizontal.

This is the correct method for holding the cane

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8 The 'K' Sonar includes: Headphones Rechargeable battery Power adapter The controls on the 'K' Sonar are very simple. It has three switches: Volume up switch Volume down switch Range control switch. The end of the 'K' Sonar with a screen cover is the sensing end. Opposite this end is the headphones jack. This is positioned at the rear of the sonar. The thin twisted cable connects the headphones to the sonar body. To turn unit on, plug the headphone plug into this jack. Disconnect headphones to turn it off. The power adapter socket is positioned on the underside of the sonar. This is forward from the cane mounting channel on the under side of the 'K' Sonar. Use only the charger supplied to charge the battery. When charging the battery, there is a bleep sound on inserting the adapter plug indicating that the charging process has started. It is good practice to charge the battery during the night.

Battery care
The battery is designed to last a day before requiring charging. You should use the supplied power adapter regularly. You cannot over charge the battery. It should last at least 2 years before renewal. The 'K' Sonar supplier must renew the battery.

Operation
Neither the earphones nor the sounds from the 'K' Sonar interfere detrimentally with the audible ambient sounds that are important to a blind person. They do not impede the acquisition of echolocation sensing. The use of 'K' Sonar is said by users to have improved the interpretation of natural sounds. This is because sonar sounds stimulate auditory perception.

Short & Long Range

On the l eft side of the 'K' Sonar, the button closest to the sensing end is the range switch. When turned on, the device is set to long range, (about 16-

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9 and-a-half feet with slower pulses). Pressing this button switches to short range (about six-and-a-half feet with faster pulses) The short-range should be used first, with the student sitting at a clear table and the training in the handbook should be followed. After learning the exercises on the table, the long-range option is used for exercises on the floor of a room clear of objects and for early training in sonar guided locomotion. In operation, the closer the object being sensed, the lower the pitch in the headphones. The more distant the object, the higher the pitch.

Volume
There are two buttons for volume up and down, which are operated by simple pressing. The top button is for increasing the volume and the lower button is for reducing the volume. The volume should be set at the quietest position at all times, subject to the ambient noise level.

Distance Discrimination
This is the least understood feature. Small movement of an object in distance is sensitively detected. This can be as little as 1 cm. Two surfaces only 1 cm different in distance can be detected but not separated. This feature is the basic source of multiple tone complexes that produce the sound language often referred to when discriminating between two objects or even recognizing an object. In stationary conditions, for two objects to be clearly separated in the perceptual image, they have to be separated by a distance equal to one third of the distance to the furthest object. Under motion conditions, this can reduce significantly depending on the type of motion.

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10

Basic Training Concepts

The process of learning to perceive ones own environment through the 'K' Sonar sensory system is a dynamic one. The hand and the cane, to which the rich spatial information is related, are constantly in motion when out walking. This motion is vital for the learning process so that the other sensory modalities can be related to this new spatial information - which is substituting for optical information. A small change in hand position causes a corresponding change in the spatial information because both are related through the Euclidean geometry of ones space. Without this real-time tight coupling between the modalities it would not be possible to relate to the world beyond oneself - the sensory inputs would not have simultaneity and could not correlate the complex information being processed in the cerebral cortex. It is this essential feature which establishes the 'K' Sonar as a very powerful ETA (Electronic Travel Aid). The detailed spatial perception that derives from the rich information must map onto similar cognitive space as for optical vision in order to correlate with motor activity. For this to happen efficiently and effectively, a blind user requires guidance from an intelligent person able to relate to the training exercises in using this form of acoustic spatial perception. This preferably is a professional teacher of visually impaired persons - a person who can judge the level to which a visually impaired learner might eventually aspire. Such a professional can also give guidance to an associate teacher or friend of the learner in carrying out the detailed exercises in this 'K' Sonar Handbook. The pattern of learning needs to be directed through exploratory exposure to an increasingly complex environment, whilst the motor activity involved in this learning process is essentially self directed. There is no shortcut in this learning process and at the same time gain maximum benefit from the sensory system.

Basic Abilities
These can be listed in order of preference in exposure: Abilities relating to the following questions about objects placed on a table top: Is it present or absent? Is it near or far? Is it left or right? Is there one or are there two objects? Where are they - left or right, near or far?

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11 Abilities related to motor activity: Reach for and grasp the object Map the objects onto small scale space. These very basic exercises in spatial perception have been learned very quickly by totally blind school children between the ages 7 and 11 using the KASPA technology. This was to the stage where no mistakes were made from a set of 10 tries in an exercise. This, even though one child was rated to have an IQ of about 60 and the highest was 110. The objects were vertical rods of 2 cm diameter mounted in a small base covered with felt. The rods were placed silently on a clear table top within reach of the child. Reaching in a sighted manner to grasp a rod was encouraged, giving very strong kinaesthetic and haptic feedback of spatial location and object type. The children were not asked to specify distance or angle. The trajectory of the reaching action and its accuracy improved showing that a spatial relationship was being mapped onto the common cognitive sensory and motor modality space. Development of a new bio-sensory system was taking place. The accuracy of looking was of the order of 2 degrees. This is clearly much superior to spatial perception through audible acoustics used by the Blind, often referred to as echolocation.

It is reasonable to ask to what extent this new form of spatial perception can be used by a blind person in their daily living activities, and in what way does it influence general behaviour. At what time in the rehabilitation process should such a sensory capability be acquired? It might be asked is it functional? It is suggested that it should be acquired at the very outset of rehabilitation - because it has been shown to lead to the rapid acquisition of skills that are slow to acquire by conventional means. Also, the experience is motivating to a person who has recently been deprived of the skills - or in the case of the congenitally blind, has never had them. The 'K' Sonar acting like a narrow beam focussed flashlight provides similar spatial information through a controlled hand scanning action. The other hand of a trainee is used to do the reaching. With training visually impaired children will build a cognitive map of their object space.

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12

Training and Skills

There are several basic skills that must be acquired before a learner can deal with the broad range of concepts that lead to acoustic spatial perception in three dimensions. The process of learning spatial perception is dynamic; cognition and action, which are so important in the human development process, cannot be separated from the sensory process and therefore must be seen to be important in the design of exercises. Maturation in the sighted is a slow process which allows time for seemingly random visual events to be neurally correlated with actions, producing cognition. The acquisition of a new means to spatial perception by blind people needs to be accelerated through guided exposure. Free exploration is inefficient in time. A learner should not be subjected only to random spatial exploration as happens of necessity learning to use the long cane. As their spatial mapping develops some free exploration should be encouraged. Compression of learning time can be achieved through organised repetitions of perception, cognition and action, which thereby reduce the normal randomness of events. Event correlations, which rely on memory, are more effective when time lapse between events is short. The programme of learning spatial perception through the 'K' Sonar is designed to maximise the power of real-time feedback, conducting the first exercises on a table. Object space on a table top is formed by specific objects chosen for their stimulation of the new sensory system, and placed within reach of the learner. This reach may require stretching forward with the body bending over the table. Motion of this kind introduces complexity in the stimulus, rewarding the action by kinaesthetic and haptic feedback as objects are touched, and then recognised through prehensile feedback during handling. For development of sonocular perception to take place, the neural system must be capable of object discrimination. The sensory input must therefore provide the information for this discrimination to take place. Acoustic waves of the order of 3 to 6 mm provide the information for distal resolution of the order of 10 mm. Angular resolution is determined by the number of wavelengths across the receiving aperture. In the 'K' Sonar this resolution is about 8 to 10 degrees. What has been found almost as important as resolution is the real-time variation in the acoustic sensory stimulus as the hand and the body moves even only slightly. That is, it provides immediate feedback of motion through action.

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The Learning Programme

The most basic concepts of object space have already been introduced. We all want to know if an object is present, determine where it is and what it is. The table top is the most useful area on which to learn these concepts. Starting from the most simple object and increasing the number and complexity of objects, an object space can be constructed which enables rapid learning of many important concepts including the mapping of the space through modelling a smaller space, and constructing a larger space. The larger space eventually extends to the floor when controlled locomotion is required in order to negotiate the forming of an object space during its construction process. Now that it is known what can be learned, the basis exists for the design of exercises that will allow variability for the maintenance of motivation to learn without the presence of a teacher. Guidance through the exercises can be given by a friend with monitoring by a therapist who can assess progress and teach where self exploration fails. At the end of a programme of say 20 hours that includes exercising on a floor, a blind person is ready to walk in quiet public places, learning to see the environment through transfer of small and medium scale space experienced indoors to larger scale space out of doors. Introduction of the use of the long cane as a probe to scan the ground ahead can begin. This should not be until familiarization with the outdoor environment during movement has reached a level when attention can be given to the cane signals. This information is to be integrated with the other sensory modalities. Because the acoustic perception locates those objects normally found / contacted with the cane, cane contact reduces dramatically. Experience shows this to be well controlled by the traveller who seeks physical contact information that is not available through acoustics. The cane remains the best means of handling the unexpected step down. It also protects against holes in the ground. Even so there are many situations when the cane is unreliable. A questionnaire sent to 30 leading O&M teachers revealed that all would like a reliable step down detector to use in conjunction with the cane. However, when the cane and the 'K' Sonar are used in conjunction, step downs are better anticipated through the increased knowledge of the environment. The ability to be independently mobile with less stress is increased considerably. The time taken to reach a high level of competency is significantly reduced from that of conventional O&M training. More people can reach a high level of competency, thereby allowing itinerant teachers to manage more people effectively.

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14

Exercises in using the 'K' Sonar

Introductory Note
The reason for these planned exercises is so that the slow natural interactive learning process of randomly experiencing different spatial events is greatly accelerated. Here, experience is contrived in the form of exercise tasks and scaled from easy to difficult - as perceived at the outset. Through the exercises, specially designed examples of object space can be explored both manually and acoustically with instantaneous multi-modal feedback so that the subject relates to feature changes instantaneously. These table top and floor features will gradually be seen to relate to the natural environment. Later, when walking through the environment, touching it will not be necessary in order to know what objects are present and where they are. The result for each exercise during the initial evaluation for the purpose of data collection is given as the Score at the end of the lesson note. We commence with the most basic concept of presence and absence of an object. Switch the 'K' Sonar on by plugging in the headphones. The Range switch is to be set at short range. When there is nothing in the field of view, the sensor should be silent. Monitor the sound from the sensor yourself through monitor phones. Have you had a hearing test done on yourself and the student?

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15

Table Top Exercises

Exercise 1
Objective:
Interactive learning through looking and reaching:- Perception of a single object within reaching distance.

Materials:
Smooth table top and 2 cm diameter rod. Various household objects can be used (for example wood paper towel stand).

Action:
Student is to be seated at the table and his/her reaching distance determined. The 'K' Sonar is to be switched on by connecting to the headphones. The rod is to be silently placed on the table within reaching distance and the student asked to grasp it. (This will be by using the normal hand search)

The student is then asked to point at the rod by scanning his/her hand with the sonar left and right to determine the direction of the rod by locating the strongest signal. The kinaesthetically perceived direction of the strongest auditory signal is registered by the kinesthetically sensed direction of the hand. Ask the student to slide the rod around on the table sound that correlates closely with hand motion. processing of the kinaesthetic signals will be in changing auditory signals resulting in cognition of a the rod. producing a changing That is, the neural synchrony with the changing location of

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16 Ask the student to hand back the rod and then place it on the table within reach but at a different place. Repeat the exercise as described BUT - teaching the student to look for the rod first through pointing at the rod with the sonar and then grasping it. This teaching will most likely involve manual guiding of the one hand action and guiding the trajectory of the second hand for reaching. The fingers are to be wide open. Encourage the student to reach - not grope. Repeat this exercise at intervals during the following exercises until sightedlike accurate reaching to any distance within reach or direction is achieved with a good trajectory. NOTE: This exercise is the foundation for cognitive development through looking and acting.

Exercise 2
Objective:
To verbalise the location of an object on the table.

Materials:
Rod on a table top.

Method:
Place the rod on the table within reach. Ask the student to say where the rod is relative to self in terms of near or far, left or right. Depending on the students general ability to vocalise, ask first for near or far only, then left or right only, until left or right can be asked at the same time as near or far. Repeat exercise at intervals until correct responses can always be expected.

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17

Exercise 3
To Perceive 2 objects at varying distances apart in both distance and direction.

Objective:
To determine which one of the two objects is to the left or right - the one that is near or the one that is far in relation to the subject.

Materials:
2 rods with felt bases.

Method:
Explain the exercise carefully and instruct the subject to grasp the rods which are placed 30 cms apart and within reach. Initially place 1 rod at approximately 20 cms greater distance than the other. Instruct the student to look at first the near one then the far one using the criteria developed in lesson one for looking at an object. That is using the loudest, sharpest, signal as representing the rod in the centre of the field of view This criteria is very important for discriminating between two different objects. In this exercise the difference in the signal pitch created by the difference in distance enables easy discrimination.

Now instruct the student to push the nearest rod away from self to a far position and listen to the change in sound of the near rod increasing in pitch till it approaches the same distance as the second rod. Then stop. Now pull the second rod towards self and listen to the pitch decrease till it is at the same pitch as the first rod was initially. A problem is most likely to be experienced in doing this. To overcome the problem, instruct the student to move one rod a small distance away from

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18 and then towards self in a wavering fashion. This will draw attention to the wavering rod. The stationary rod should be perceived also by hand scanning. Repeat this exercise but keep the near rod stationary and waver the far rod towards and away from self. This will now draw attention to the far rod and yet the near rod will also be heard. Here the student has to verbalise relative position before reaching to an object. This now uses all the skills developed in the previous exercises. They are in fact the basic skills for controlled locomotion once they have been transferred to larger scale space - like the floor with distances of up to five meters being involved. A person cannot execute the 3 tasks without some form of spatial perception. An adult may not be impressed by a skill which a five year old child acquires over the passage of time. It is therefore important to ensure high motivation is maintained through rapid progress, yet not so rapid that reliability is not maintained. Even children with developmental delay will achieve reliability in the first six exercises.

Exercise 4
Counting objects.

Objective:
To count up to 5 rods on an arc.

Materials:
5 rods on the table top. (This could be 5 bottles)

Method:
Demonstrate to subject that the rods are to be counted out loud as the sound of each one is heard, starting with 2 widely spaced. Pay special attention to correct hand scan. Increase the number to 5 as skill is developed. Place 5 rods spaced equidistant from each other on the table. Find out how many rods can be counted - out loud - correctly. This is a crucial skill in spatial resolution. Demonstrate hand scan - encourage wide scan with steady hand movement.

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19

Exercise 5
To discriminate between 5 Attribute cylinders.

Objective:
To increase the discriminating ability of subjects through different sound signatures corresponding to different surfaces.

Materials:
Towers:1 Plastic - A 1 Carpet - B 1 Corrugated Cardboard - C 1 Wood Chip - D You may need to find materials to wrap round a box or tube such as the tube inside a paper towel. Each material should give a clearly distinctive signal.

Method:
Begin by placing the cylinders one at a time on the table for exploration by the student. He/she is to scan the object acoustically and explore hapticly. Practice till there is familiarity. Next, place a cylinder within reach of subject and ask whether it is the same as or different from the previous cylinder. Give verbal feedback and allow touching of cylinders.

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20

Exercise 6
To recognise 5 different surfaces.

Objective:
To develop a skill in recognising ones environment through sound.

Materials:
Cylinders:1 Plastic - A 1 Carpet - B 1 Corrugated Cardboard -C 1 Wood Chip - D

Method:
Demonstrate and explain that the task is to identify each tower. Place one Tower in front of the subject and say which tower is this?. Repeat with verbal feedback and touching after each response.

Exercise 7
Spatial Interaction. Building a Tower game.

Objective:
To Perceive the position of a block on the table and place another block on top of this for the development of location and reaching skill.

Materials:
A set of interlocking blocks: the base block is felt covered.

Method:
Begin by placing a tower of 4 blocks on the table and giving the subject one for placing on the tower. Instructions should be to scan slowly across the table until the clearest signal is heard before reaching to place the block. The tower is then moved to other positions and the subject given additional blocks to place on the tower. The initial height of the tower can be r educed to only one block to encourage more thorough searching in subsequent lessons. This exercise is designed to reinforce skills already learned.

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Exercise 8
Spatial interaction sonic tower game.

Objective:
The aim here is to combine spatial skills and accurate reaching through a competitive game.

Materials:
2 sets of building blocks of the standard interlocking variety. The base block is felt covered.

Method:
The two players are seated at the table facing approximately 90 degrees to each other with sensors fitted. The rules of the game are explained: The idea is to build a tower of blocks. Each player receives 4 blocks which will be kept in one hand under the table until brought into play one at a time. The base-block is placed in a random position on the table within arms reach of both players. Players are instructed to begin by making a sonic search for the first block. Only after the instructor says Go can they reach out to place a block on to the tower. (This allows time for each player to decide upon his reaching strategy before play begins). If a player should knock over the tower a penalty is awarded- take an extra block back to add to the others. Only one hand to be used in placing blocks, the other hand being used for searching. Play proceeds with the instructor replacing the tower after each turn into a different spot on the table. When one player uses up all his blocks he wins the game.

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22

Floor Exercises
Mobility requires one to negotiate ones way towards an objective - or goal through a variable environment. Recognising the environment is crucial for relaxed mobility, and the ability to control movement relative to recognisable features of the environment determines the degree to which this is achieved. Orientation relative to multiple objects must be retained during movement, as with vision, and this is a developed skill. It may be called spatial up-dating studied by Dr Bentzon. The floor exercises are designed to develop the several skills required. A clear floor is required with boundaries beyond the 3 meters range of the 'K' Sonar during an exercise activity so that confusing sounds do not limit the students early learning rate.

Set the 'K' Sonar to the long range.

Exercise 9
Perceiving an object on the ground at a distance and determining its location by walking.

Objective:
To perceive an object well beyond reach, thereby teaching long distance sensing and controlled walking towards the object so as to grasp it. This is the beginning of developing controlled locomotion.

Materials:
2 metre high pole on stand placed on a clear floor. Boundaries of the floor should be out of range of the sensor.

Method:
Place pole, one and a half meters directly in front of subject. Instruct the student to look around to locate the pole with the sensor. When located guide student to the pole so as to grasp it. Guidance should be given taking hold of his/her elbow - reverse sighted guide technique. This ensures a clear view for the student through the sensor. Repeat with only verbal feedback and touching if necessary. Teach good posture, hand scanning and squaring up, that is with both the hand and head facing the pole. Repeat until smooth relaxed movement is obtained.

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23

Exercise 10
Perceiving object distance and location.

Objective:
To perceive comparative distance, that is distance from self to objects at different distances and directions.

Materials:
2 metre high pole.

Method:
Repeat exercise 9 but varying the distance and the direction in which the student is looking. This requires regular use of the hand scanning action learned on the table. Do not dwell on the exercise, progress to the next exercise then come back again. This exercise is to reinforce learning and confidence.

Exercise 11
Walking relative to an object.

Objective:
Develop a skill in guided locomotion and orientation.

Materials:
2 metre high pole.

Method:
Place the pole about 2 meters from the student and instruct him to locate it with the 'K' Sonar. Guide him as before but now walking past the pole to about 2 meters beyond it. The passing distance should be about half a metre such that the pole is heard to flow (shift laterally) to the passing side as it is approached and passed. This should be described as acoustic flow, and that it is similar to visual flow when passing objects. Turn the student round and walk back to the start point, again passing the pole at a distance of about half a metre. Repeat the exercise but this time have the student stretch his arm out on the passing side so as to touch the pole after it has gone out of view and is about to be passed. This provides the essential feedback of pole position relative to where it was heard to be, as it flowed laterally away (acoustically) to the passing side. Repeat this several times until the student relaxes and can just touch the pole as it is passed.

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24 Now instruct the student to repeat walking past and round the pole keeping in mind where you are as a reference. Do not walk about yourself at this time.

Exercise 12
Perceiving two objects on the ground.

Objective:
To discriminate between 1 or 2 objects beyond reach through looking around.

Materials:
Two 2 metre poles on stands.

Method:
Place the two poles at a distance of about 2 meters from the student and separated by about 1 metre. Instruct her to look around to find them by fixating on each one briefly. Remove one and ask which one has been removed, the one on the left or the right? Repeat several times varying the distance and the separation of the poles. Do not reduce the separation to less than half a metre.

Exercise 13
Walking relative to 2 poles.

Objective:
To learn to control body motion relative to two objects, retaining orientation relative to a marker.

Materials:
2 x 2-metre poles on stands. The reference marker is the teacher in a stationary position.

Method:
Place the two poles on the floor about 1 metre apart. Guide the student walking in an ellipse round the two poles passing them at about half a metre distance touching them lightly as they are passed. Then walk the student in a figure 8 round the poles again touching them lightly as they are passed.

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25 Instruct the student to repeat these walking patterns making the sonar contact with the teacher as each complete path is executed. Practice this frequently till a smooth performance is obtained.

Exercise 14
Discrimination between two objects.

Objective:
To discriminate between objects of different type at a distance so that they may be used as landmarks.

Materials:
2 rough wall boards on stands and 2 poles. Position the boards and poles so that each may be viewed separately from a standing position.

Method:
Start by subject touching both the wall boards and the poles. Explain that the goal is to tell whether the objects are the same or different. Verbal feedback as the student moves around can be given until the correct responses are obtained. Always allow confirmation of responses by touching Attention to posture and scanning behaviour helps facilitate learning.

Exercise 15
Comparison of object distance.

Objective:
To compare distance between 2 objects.

Materials:
2 wall boards of different surface structure. Stand the wall boards, one slightly in front of the other separated by half a metre, at about 2 metres distance from the student.

Method:
The student is to face the overlapping edge so as to hear (perceive) the two walls overlapping. Walk her towards the boards until the two surfaces are distinctly heard as being separate. Continue on till the separating distance can be felt. Repeat until the s eparation is perceived at a gradually increasing distance indicating improved discrimination ability. Do not tire the student, as this perception may be slow to acquire for some persons. Vary the separation distance, and the starting distance from the walls.

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Exercise 16
Object proximity and stop distance.

Objective:
To perceive a safe distance from a wall at which to stop. To know when an object is close.

Materials:
1 wall board.

Method:
Demonstrate what position can be called the Halt distance from the wall. Put subject into the HALT position and draw attention to the pitch of the sound. Now move the subject to other positions and ask whether that is the same position or not. Repeat until it is established that the subject recognises the pitch of the HALT position each time.

Exercise 17
Counting Objects.

Objective:
To count up to 4 poles on an arc. To learn to resolve multiple objects.

Materials:
4 x 2 metre high poles.

Method:
Place the 4 poles on the floor spaced apart about half a metre and at a mean distance of 2 metres from the student so that each pole can be heard clearly using the central field. Instruct the student to fixate on each pole by slowly locating the clearest sound. Remove one or two poles. Instruct the student to count the poles. Add a pole or poles and check that he/she can count correctly. Determine the number and the minimum separation needed for correct counting. Compare with table top exercise results.

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Exercise 18
Counting objects.

Objective:
To enumerate up to 5 poles in a straight line by walking past them.

Materials:
5 x 2 metre poles.

Method:
Place the poles on the floor about 2 metres apart in a straight line. Explain that the student will be guided down a straight line of poles and she will count the number of poles aloud as she moves past them. Guide from behind grasping the elbow. Demonstrate the best hand position and posture. Instruct the student to repeat this exercise without guidance. Vary the number of poles and the spacing as the skill improves. This is a particularly good exercise as two objectives are served. Counting objects as they are passed like doorways in a passage and controlling ones locomotion into a straight line such as when passing shop windows.

Exercise 19
Walking through an opening.

Objective:
To walk between 2 poles.

Materials:
2 x 2 metre high poles.

Method:
Place poles 0.75 m apart, 2.0 m from the subject. The task is to walk between the poles without touching them . Starting from a distance of 2 metres, first the student should first listen to the sound from each pole then decide on the path to be used mid-way between them. Correction can be made by the student during the walk, if necessary, to avoid touching the poles. Repeat this several times until it becomes a smooth walk.

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Exercise 20
Walking through an opening.

Objective:
To walk through an opening like a doorway using two wall boards with roughened surface.

Materials:
Two wall boards with wood edging to represent door posts.

Method:
Place 2 wall boards 0.75 m apart, 2.0 metres from subject. Instruct subject to walk through the opening without touching the boards. Listen first to one board then the other and decide the path through between them. Once the walk has been, commenced, there should be no contact with the boards. Repeat until there is a smooth satisfactory walk through. This constitutes a method for walking through a doorway or opening.

Exercises In Spatial Navigation and Landmark Recognition

The following exercises should be studied in conjunction with the exercises in the main list. The objective here is to get your client familiar with the outdoor environment in which they wish to move. Use of the cane is deliberately avoided for most of the exercises so the free exploration can take place. Cane use is introduced when the client is satisfactorily familiar with useful landmarks and is ready to walk a route, crossing roads at intersections, and detecting step downs and their relationship with the landmarks. This enables the client to anticipate the step down and detect it before overstepping. This process greatly reduces stress when walking as compared with using the cane alone.

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Parallel Walking Relative to a Straight Wall

Unobstructed Straight Wall A straight rough wall which produces clearly audible back-scatter, of sound is preferable for the first exercise in shorelining. Constancy of pitch and shush enables straight line walking to be achieved very quickly. To start with, the sonar should be held slightly towards the wall to get a shushing sound. Avoid scanning until the shoreline sound is well absorbed. In due course scanning can begin. Your client should first be guided from behind in straight line walking. This demonstrates the unchanging sound pattern produced. Veering will cause a change in the sound pattern. This should be demonstrated by again guiding your client. Then he/she can use this change in order to correct veer when walking, guided then only by the sound pattern.

Straight Wall with Driveway

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30 When the skill has developed sufficiently, introduce a driveway. It will then be noticed that the shush from the wall ceases as the driveway is approached. With a little practice the edge of the driveway can be determined. The guiding information vanishes as progress is made crossing the driveway, until the high pitched whistle from the opposite wall comes into the range of the sensor. This then becomes the guiding sound which, in the situation pictured, should be kept on the left so as to pass the edge of the wall safely by. The shush of the wall surface then re-starts. Quite accurate locomotion control is achieved. Comparison with natural echolocation can now be made by repeating the exercise with the 'K' Sonar switched off. It will be found that natural echolocation gradually improves with these exercises.

Shorelining on a Straight Fence

A lapped fence produces two clearly distinguishable signatures depending on the direction of the lapping. When facing the edge of the boards, these produce a strong twanging sound. From the opposite direction only a quiet shush is heard. This will normally be quieter than a rough wall.

Lapped fence with drive way and clear path

The driveway will be sensed with the loss of sound from the fence. Progress across the driveway should be straight, and confirmed by the far side of the fence coming into the sensor field at the maximum sensing distance.

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Lapped fence

Shorelining Alongside a Clipped Hedge

Clipped hedge with the car ahead is in the path

The leafy hedge sounds so different from the fence and wall but the acoustic spatial pattern when walking is much the same and can be used for shorelining alongside the hedge.

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Leafy hedge and grass verge with wide pathway

This is seen as the extreme case of straight line shorelining. Interpretation of the variation in signal - or change in the shush - due to motion alone, and due to a new part of the hedge coming into the field of view, is critical to good shorelining.

Shorelining in Shopping Areas and Recognising Landmarks or Navigation Points

It is assumed that by now your client is able to walk a straight path alongside walls, fences and hedges which are customarily found in suburban areas. It is also assumed that he or she s i able to discriminate between the different surfaces. There should have been few real life distractions in the learning process so far through teacher choices. The next stage in the learning process is to introduce the variable - people presence. Shopping areas serve both to increase interest in the learning process and provide the unexpected situations. To have used a shopping area at the beginning would have exposed your client to disruption in learning to walk a straight line or follow a shoreline at a time when he or she was not skilled in using the sounds as guides. The next series of situations have been chosen to illustrate the environments into which you should introduce your client. In normal cane training the sighted public notice a blind person with a cane especially one learning to travel blind. They avoid the person so that contact with a sighted traveller/pedestrian is unlikely. In this set of exercises the cane should still not be in evidence. The client will instead learn to do the avoiding using

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33 KASPA sounds. At the same time he or she will continue learning to walk parallel to the shop fronts. Our objective is to provide the blind pedestrian with the same information as the sighted use - as far as this is possible with current technology help - in order to negotiate the environment smoothly and without stress. One might add purpose as a desirable goal. Both shorelining and avoidance procedures are to be learned together as occur in real life.

Shorelining alongside a Store Front

The windows present an interesting change in sound pattern somewhat like the poles in a row. Walking past the windows in the picture produces a series of whistles, which flow past on the right. With forward motion and experience of this situation the client will begin to visualise the situation. Visualise is the best word to describe what eventuates - so we are informed by long term users. The Sonar torch should be held as for shorelining walls and fences.

In illustration A, an adult would hear both the shop front frames and the glass, and as well could hear the upper section of the wall. That is with the 'K' Sonar in its short-range design used as a training sensor. The torch needs to be directed across the body towards the shoreline at the appropriate angle, so that when walking there is a flow of whistles like with the shop windows.

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Illustration A

In illustration B bellow, a child would be more likely to hear only the brick wall because of his or her height. A teacher must pay careful attention to what perception is likely to be by the client relative to what may be imagined by a sighted person.

Illustration B Recognition of a particular shop may depend entirely on sounds from within or the smell from within. There are overhanging signs for each shop but these are unlikely to have recognisable features even though they may be picked up by the sensor, depending on the posture of the client.

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During walks along quiet shop fronts shown above, the teacher should act as a pedestrian who should be avoided. The method of avoidance should be studied and practised. The freedom to pass another pedestrian, especially a stationary pedestrian, should be learned. If one cannot pass on the outside relative to the shop front one has to check carefully that the inside space is sufficient to pass between the stationary pedestrian and the glass window. Determining this freedom is best done using yourself as the pedestrian to be avoided. The client may then be free to explore the space around you. This could not be done with strangers. Further examples of shopping areas in which to practice walking parallel to the shops and avoiding pedestrians. The area should be quiet at first. Begin to practice walking parallel to the shops but at a distance from them in the opposite direction to the normal flow of pedestrians at a busy time.

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36 Without the cane, pedestrians will not immediately seek to avoid the scanning cane of a blind person. This means the blind client must prepare to take avoiding action. Good practice is then possible. Recognition of shops and their doorways should also be practiced. Obstacles in the travel path, which would normally be encountered by the cane, will now be detected by the sonic beam and produce their own echoes. These have to be recognised. The sensor has a narrow vertical beam. At this stage the client will be learning to recognise the features of environments. To locate obstacles close to the ground he/she should depress the torch to look downwards. This affects the sensing of the shoreline and should be learned under guidance.

Busy Shopping Street with Traffic Sounds

Gradually increase the complexity of the environment through traffic sounds and pedestrians. There are sufficient pedestrians to get skilled at avoiding them when they are standing silently looking into a window or walking in front of you. By learning to avoid pedestrians, low obstructions, and not veering towards the kerb edge, the stress of downtown walking is greatly reduced. It will be realised that dependence on the cane to create a clear path in pedestrian areas has been eliminated.

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Street Crossing with Traffic Lights

Approaching a street crossing, this is first indicated by distant traffic sounds, then the end of the building shoreline being evident. From the change in ambient sound reflection one needs to pay attention and seek a traffic light pole. Recognising the correct pole is important. By searching acoustically with the sensor to look for the lights at the top of the pole the one sought after can be recognised. There will be other poles which do not have the same characteristics. Orienting oneself relative to the crossing can be helped by seeking a standing pedestrian and asking a question. If no one is about then the traffic will provide orientation. Now, a cane can be useful in locating the curb and sensing the curvature. Orientation is however dependant on recognising traffic patterns. Information must have been sought before setting out or the area must be familiar.

The three light clusters provide a distinctive signal that traffic control pole has been reached.

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The pedestrian push button can be located by the signal from the pole and the characteristic of the box mounted on the pole. The orientation of the box indicates the crossing being controlled. A busy crossing provides the practice of crossing the road following pedestrians. Time needs to be spent looking for characteristic features, which will enable a client to handle the situation better with the 'K' Sonar than with only the cane. Have a great time.

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