Strategy and Spatial Representations for Improving Navigation Ability Without Vision Using Sensory Substitution Devices

Accurate and quick navigation poses a major challenge for the visually impaired and those who have been hit by power outages, smoke and fog. SSDs are expected as a technical approach to this problem. The improvement of navigation by SSD and the knowledge of neuroscience and cognitive psychology are not so linked. In this study, we examine sensory information and strategies related to improving navigation by reviewing existing SSDs from the perspective of neuroscience and using the triangle completion task that has been used for a long time in cognitive psychology. From reviewing SSDs, it was found that depth information, direction information, and object information provide the information necessary for constructing spatial representations instead of vision. We found out that a strategy of recalling triangles using Labeled graphs is effective in the long term for improving navigation. Directional information encourages the construction of labeled graphs, and feedback on the direction of the navigation goal makes it accurate via the acquisition of metaknowledge and improvement of subjective scale. Our research would make a great contribution to the development of SSDs for navigation.