Being A Bat

[den]

A bat echolocation system, adapted for human ears, has been used allow people to locate objects in a virtual reality environment. The researchers behind the project hope that a similar system in the cockpit of fighter planes could allow pilots to track some controls using their hearing, freeing up their eyes for other tasks.

Comments

[chezmax]

That's quite cool. I want to try it out!

[lizardling.livejournal.com]

Didn't read, but at first blush that sounds like it'd be really helpful for the blind.

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

The early "sonar for the blind" things used an ultrasonic ping, but researchers found bat pings are a huge range of frequencies and return more info. this is the new development in the article, and works better than just stereo sound. I see an application for pilots to be able to "hear" the planes around them.

Not much good for the deaf, though.