Echolocation could help blind people learn to navigate like bats

Study confirms accuracy of using mouth clicks to identify location of objects, and uncovers insights which could help teach the skill

Hannah Devlin Science correspondent

@hannahdev
Tue 27 Feb 2018 19.01 EST

Some people who are blind learn the extraordinary skill of echolocation, using mouth clicks to explore their environment in a way comparable to how bats navigate.

Now scientists have uncovered new insights into how this feat is performed, which could help others to learn the skill.

The study confirms that people can identify objects with a high rate of accuracy by listening for echoes of mouth clicks and that they make subtle alterations to their clicking patterns depending on the object’s location.

Most people who are born blind are highly sensitive to the acoustics of their environment – using the echoes that bounce of objects, walls and buildings to navigate and avoid collisions. However, in recent years there has been a growing awareness of the ability of some blind individuals to use mouth clicks to actively echolocate. One American echolocation expert, Daniel Kish, uses the technique to accurately build up a mental sketch of a room as well as using it to go mountain biking along new trails.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/feb/28/echolocation-could-help-blind-people-learn-to-navigate-like-bats