Final Project Result

Edge detecting with a sonar

One of the reasons that I wanted to use two sensors was that I wanted the user to be able to use differences in sonar distance to detect edges. Edge detection is a very important concept in sensory perception. Without getting into a neuroscience lesson, edge detection is important to perception because our brain actually ignores most of the sensory information and just pays attention to important details in sensory environment such as edges. I did a test on the corner of a cabinet to see if I could detect an edge by consistently observing differences in the two ultrasonic sensors. It worked great. The picture of the cabinet is the object that I am using in the video. As can be seen in the video when the ultrasonic sensor moves past the edges, the two sensors show a difference, which demonstrates that the sensors are sensitive enough to detect edges.

Field testing with students

I was finally ready to field test my echolocation goggles. I decided the best thing to use as Obstacles was other students. Each of the students had the opportunity to walk through he crowd of other students but with the task of not touching anyone. As can be seen in the video, students are clearly using the data from the ultrasonic sensors to walk up to but not touch the other students as they navigate through the crowd. The students found the experience very intuitive and everyone was able to successfully navigate the crowd. Most importantly it got the students excited about sensory perception and generated some very interesting discussions.

Future Improvements.

After using the goggles there a couple of things that I would like to change or add. First, it did not occur to me until we started using the goggles that the lack of plate on the bottom would cause a problem because you can see the ground and thus use it as a clue. I easily fixed this problem by taping a piece of cardboard to the bottom of the goggles but I need to design a more permanent solution for the future.

The other thing I would like to add a lenses to the viewing window so that I can move the LCD screen closer to the eyes. Currently because the LCD display must be far enough away that a person's eyes can focus on the screen, it means the goggles project out relatively far. Although the goggles do fit on the face and hold in place, I think it would improve comfort if the size of the goggles could be reduced.