See-Through-Sound: Transforming images into sonic representations to help the blind

See-Through-Sound is a research project that is aimed at creating an innovative solution for mapping visual information into the auditory realm, enabling a spatial environment and its unique features to be described as organized sonic events. Of particular interest to us has been the creation of a tool for people with vision disabilities to help them perceive and recognize objects and features of their environment through sonic rep-resentations of light, color and shapes. Applications for sighted people have also been explored as sonifica -tion methods for monitoring changes in color within a broad range of scenarios, as well as advanced motion detection. The benefits and promise of this technology are far reaching; it goes beyond mere medical and scientific applications. Ultimately the main goal of this research project is the attempt to systematize and create a universal vocabulary of sonic events that map visual data into auditory data, both for man and machine use.