Sensory substitution

Sensory substitution conveys information ordinarily obtained through one sense through a different sensory channel, such as touch or hearing. It uses patterns in the substitute channel to represent features of the environment.

Sensory substitution device: A device that captures information through one sensor and presents it through a different sensory channel. These devices translate camera or distance-sensor data into touch or sound.
BrainPort: A device that converts camera images into patterns of electrical stimulation on the tongue. It is a prominent example of conveying visual information through touch.
Paul Bach-y-Rita: A neuroscientist who pioneered tactile-vision substitution and research on brain plasticity. His camera-to-tactile systems helped establish sensory substitution as a research field.
Sensory enhancement: An increase in the sensitivity, resolution, or useful range of an existing sensory channel. Enhancement improves a channel itself; substitution routes information through another one.
Sensory remapping: The brain's reassignment of sensory inputs to support new perceptual functions. Practice can make signals delivered through an unusual channel feel like information about the external world.
The vOICe: A system that converts camera images into soundscapes using pitch, loudness, and stereo position. It represents visual scenes through auditory patterns rather than tactile stimulation.
Peter Meijer: A Dutch engineer who developed the auditory image-encoding system known as the vOICe. His work demonstrated a distinct auditory route for conveying visual scenes.
Sensory restoration: The recovery of sensory function through treatment, rehabilitation, or assistive technology. Substitution can provide access to information without restoring the impaired sense.
Neuroplasticity: The nervous system's capacity to change its structure or function in response to experience. Learning to interpret substituted signals depends on experience-driven changes in sensory processing.
Tactile-vision substitution system: A system that encodes visual information as spatial patterns of tactile stimulation. This class of systems makes the camera-to-touch translation explicit.

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