Triangulating laser profilometer as a three-dimensional space perception system for the blind.

Abstract

We describe a device that is currently under industrial development and that will give blind persons a three-dimensional space perception. It consists of a triangulating laser telemeter head placed on the back of the hand and connected to a belt bag that contains the electronic parts and has auditory feedback close to the ear. The microprocessor unit converts in real time the distance measured by the telemeter in a sonorous musical note. Scanning the space with an adequate movement of the hand produces musical lines, corresponding to the profiles of the environment. We discuss the optical configuration of the system relative to our first year of clinical experimentation.