Interactive Training for Sensory Substitution Devices

Effective training techniques for sensory substitution devices (SSDs), devices that translate information for one sensory modality into information that can be used by another, are rarely discussed. In this paper, we compare three training strategies on a particular SSD, known as the vOICe, in a minimal search and localization task and show that an interactive paradigm, which combines the efforts of two trainees at the same time in a tag-like game, is more effective than passive training at a computer console or active training involving search and localization of luminescent discs. This finding suggests support for philosophical views of perception that take interaction with the environment seriously. In particular, we argue that these findings are in support of the embodied mind view as proposed by Andy Clark (2008).