CTV News - May, 2011
By Elizabeth St. Philip
Science and Health
Ben Underwood and Daniel Kish
Amazing Medical Stories, The Nine Network - November, 2007
Provides scientific basis for Ben and Daniel's echolocation abilities. Good glimpse into Ben's daily life, and his inspiring effect on his peers and teachers. More articles about Ben can be found on our General News and Students and Partners Report pages.
Provides scientific basis for Ben and Daniel's echolocation abilities. Good glimpse into Ben's daily life, and his inspiring effect on his peers and teachers. More articles about Ben can be found on our General News and Students and Partners Report pages.
Echolocation: It's Using Your Ears to Help You "See"
VisionAware - November, 2010
Maureen A. Duffy, CVRT
"Rowan is an 18-month-old German Spitz dog. Rowan was also born without eyes, a condition known as anophthalmia. ... Owner Sam Orchard, a dog breeder in the United Kingdom, was 'stunned' when she realized that Rowan was using echolocation to navigate his environment – by barking and then listening to the echoes created by his bark to determine his location in relation to his surroundings. ... It's not Rowan I’m primarily interested in however; rather, it is human echolocation that fascinates me."
Maureen A. Duffy, CVRT
"Rowan is an 18-month-old German Spitz dog. Rowan was also born without eyes, a condition known as anophthalmia. ... Owner Sam Orchard, a dog breeder in the United Kingdom, was 'stunned' when she realized that Rowan was using echolocation to navigate his environment – by barking and then listening to the echoes created by his bark to determine his location in relation to his surroundings. ... It's not Rowan I’m primarily interested in however; rather, it is human echolocation that fascinates me."
Science, The Power of Perception: How Human Echolocation Is Being Put Into Practice
Abilities Magazine - Spring, 2011 ©
By Liz Brown
This article is an exquisite overview of our approach, the science behind it, what students have said about it, and a personal touch of how the approach was developed. The only thing is ... Daniel doesn't reside in England. "Kish describes his ability as something akin to having a conversation with his environment. “The clicking is like asking two questions, ‘What are you?’ and ‘Where are you?’” he says. According to Kish, echolocators hear distinct answers from different objects. ... “Echolocation can be divided into passive and active types,” he explains. “I’d say about 50 percent of people who are blind use some form of passive echolocation, often unaware that they are doing it. Perhaps about 10 percent use some form of active echolocation [where the user is producing his or her own signal], but only a small percentage, maybe three percent, use it to an advanced degree.” While many people use echolocation, most have trouble articulating how they do it, so it’s historically been difficult to teach it to others in a systematic fashion. ... “Hitherto, it was believed that human biosonar was so crude as to not be worth studying. However, this is shown to be not true, so scientists are waking up to the interest.” ... There are two ways that people who are blind can use echolocation to navigate environments. One is to use clicks to maintain orientation—that is, to identify surroundings and one’s position in relation to those surroundings. The other is to use clicks to target a specific object—to identify the backboard of a basketball net to make a shot, for example. According to Kish, active echolocation is always more effective than passive echolocation. “You want a sharp tongue click, and you want to be scanning with your head, much as people scan through eye movement,” he explains. “You also want to vary the amplitude of the click with the requirement of the situation, generally louder for noisy environments or for targets that are further away.”"
By Liz Brown
This article is an exquisite overview of our approach, the science behind it, what students have said about it, and a personal touch of how the approach was developed. The only thing is ... Daniel doesn't reside in England. "Kish describes his ability as something akin to having a conversation with his environment. “The clicking is like asking two questions, ‘What are you?’ and ‘Where are you?’” he says. According to Kish, echolocators hear distinct answers from different objects. ... “Echolocation can be divided into passive and active types,” he explains. “I’d say about 50 percent of people who are blind use some form of passive echolocation, often unaware that they are doing it. Perhaps about 10 percent use some form of active echolocation [where the user is producing his or her own signal], but only a small percentage, maybe three percent, use it to an advanced degree.” While many people use echolocation, most have trouble articulating how they do it, so it’s historically been difficult to teach it to others in a systematic fashion. ... “Hitherto, it was believed that human biosonar was so crude as to not be worth studying. However, this is shown to be not true, so scientists are waking up to the interest.” ... There are two ways that people who are blind can use echolocation to navigate environments. One is to use clicks to maintain orientation—that is, to identify surroundings and one’s position in relation to those surroundings. The other is to use clicks to target a specific object—to identify the backboard of a basketball net to make a shot, for example. According to Kish, active echolocation is always more effective than passive echolocation. “You want a sharp tongue click, and you want to be scanning with your head, much as people scan through eye movement,” he explains. “You also want to vary the amplitude of the click with the requirement of the situation, generally louder for noisy environments or for targets that are further away.”"
eural Correlates of Natural Human Echolocation in Early and Late Blind Echolocation Experts
The neural architecture underlying active human echolocation has not previously been investigated. The functional brain activity of Daniel Kish and Brian Bushway were measured while they listened to echoes randomly presented from their own echolocation signals. Activity was found in the visual cortex in both individuals. Findings suggest that processing of click-echoes recruits brain regions typically devoted to vision rather than audition in both early and late blind echolocation experts, and that the patterns of processing echoes closely resemble those of processing visual input. Includes supplementary science articles - U.S. news and World Report, Discover Magazine, The Wall Street Journal...
Dolphins and Children Using Sonar
Channel 5, United Kingdom - June, 2008
As part of a scientific experiment, Daniel is unwittingly pitted in a sonar contest against Milo the Dolphin. Features Professor Magnus Wahlberg from University of Southern Denmark. Includes a most touching and heart warming segment with one of our blind students - a very engaging and adorably charming 7 year old Samuel, now deceased, who shows us how it's all done.
As part of a scientific experiment, Daniel is unwittingly pitted in a sonar contest against Milo the Dolphin. Features Professor Magnus Wahlberg from University of Southern Denmark. Includes a most touching and heart warming segment with one of our blind students - a very engaging and adorably charming 7 year old Samuel, now deceased, who shows us how it's all done.
Seeing with Sound: Using echolocation, the visually impaired get in the game.
Exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, YOU! The Experience - October, 2009
This short but impactful video showcases a blind teenager named Sebastion learning FlashSonar from Daniel Kish and Brian Bushway.
This short but impactful video showcases a blind teenager named Sebastion learning FlashSonar from Daniel Kish and Brian Bushway.
Echo Vision: The Man Who Sees With Sound
New Scientist - April, 2009
Daniel Kish was requested to write this article about the scientific basis of FlashSonar.
Daniel Kish was requested to write this article about the scientific basis of FlashSonar.
Spanish scientists Study the Effectiveness of Sonar Signals in humans
June & July, 2009
Read about how our work with Spanish scientists, published in the journal Acta Acustica, is reviewed by Discovery News, National Geographic Online, and others.
Read about how our work with Spanish scientists, published in the journal Acta Acustica, is reviewed by Discovery News, National Geographic Online, and others.
Brian Bushway on The Doctors
June, 2009
World Access for the Blind’s Brian Bushway recently appeared on The Doctors, a syndicated talk show dealing with medical and health issues.
World Access for the Blind’s Brian Bushway recently appeared on The Doctors, a syndicated talk show dealing with medical and health issues.
The Sounds of Silence
from See What I'm Saying: The Extraordinary Powers of Our Five Senses by prof. Lawrence Rosenblum - 2010
The work of World Access for the Blind is showcased in this first Chapter which presents an in depth discussion of the power and refinement of human echolocation, and it's application for everyone, sighted and blind.
The work of World Access for the Blind is showcased in this first Chapter which presents an in depth discussion of the power and refinement of human echolocation, and it's application for everyone, sighted and blind.
World of Illusions
BBC: Horizon - October, 2010
This short video segment features Daniel Kish's demonstration of bicycling with FlashSonar, and his work with scientists to study the brain's FlashSonar imaging system. Includes an interview with Prof. Dr. Lutz Wiegrebe from Neural studies at the University of Munich (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München). Also includes videos of MRI brain scans.
This short video segment features Daniel Kish's demonstration of bicycling with FlashSonar, and his work with scientists to study the brain's FlashSonar imaging system. Includes an interview with Prof. Dr. Lutz Wiegrebe from Neural studies at the University of Munich (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München). Also includes videos of MRI brain scans.
