The "Auditory Directional System" designed to help blind persons get to interior destinations in an institutional setting, uses a compact disc player, a network of speakers, infrared "people" detection equipment, and a computer controlled speaker-sequencing system. After initial destination selection, musical cues are activated as the person…

An evaluation of five voice calculators now on the market--the Canon SP-1260-D, Panasonic JE-165OU and JE-72OU, Sharp EL-620, and Speech Plus--by 20 legally blind adults indicated that most can easily by used by visually handicapped people. Descriptive information is given. (Author/MC)

Comparison of two electronic braille notetakers found that the Braille 'n Speak was less expensive, easier to learn, and easier for both experienced users and beginners to operate than the BrailleMate, though the BrailleMate offers a unique alternative by including a braille display and a Random Access Memory card storage system. (JDD)

The article describes research conducted in the early 1970s on the comparative efficiency of an electronic teaching system for programed instruction (the BRAILLOPHON) and a conventional brailled book program for teaching seventh- and eighth-grade blind students to spell. (Author)

Preliminary results indicated that the binaural sensory aid is useful within a regular program of developmental intervention, but that positive effects cannot be attributed to the device alone. (Author/DLS)

Described are components of a second generation interactive classroom television system used in two California classrooms for partially sighted elementary students. (CL)

Ten stages of developing reading machines for blind people are analyzed: handling of text material; optics; electro-optics; pattern recognition; character recognition; storage; speech synthesizers; browsing and place finding; computer indexing; and other sources of input. Cost considerations of the final product are emphasized. (CL)

A newspaper was electronically transmitted using synthesized speech to 29 blind adults. Although subjects read a lot and enjoyed the service, they mainly used a selected few of the available commands. Striking similarities were found in reading habits with those of sighted persons. (Author/DB)

The use of the Sonicguide and the Laser Cane in concept development programs for blind young adults is examined. (Author/SBH)

Described is a prosthesis that connects a television camera and associated circuitry to the visual centers of the brain to restore a limited amount of visual sensation to totally blind persons. (Author/MH)

Evaluation results are presented for five braille printers. The evaluation is based on extensive testing and data derived from a panel of 37 braille readers who considered noise level, identification/labeling and buttons, audio indicators, setting parameters, braille quality, documentation, and manufacturer's comments. (CB)

The repeated-reading strategy and optical character recognition were paired to demonstrate a functional relationship between the combined strategies and two factors: the reading rates of students with visual impairments and the students' self-perceptions, or attitudes, toward reading. The results indicated that all five students increased their…

Discussed are some potential applications of the pathsounder, laser cane, and sonicguide as aids to concept development in blind children. (Author/IM)

The study compared the effectiveness of using the Sonicguide, a device using echoes to aid orientation and mobility, with five blind children aged 5-48 months. Results found that children at all age levels were able to use the guide. These results conflict with previous results suggesting a critical age for device usefulness. (DB)

An alternative approach to traditional listening skills, pretraining programs, and a review of literature explore the effectiveness of different ways of presenting materials for aural study to be used by visually handicapped adults. (Author/MH)