Eyes on the Brain   A Device to Help the Blind See  Can sound
help the blind to see?  Most of us think we can see only with
our eyes. But, the development of some recent prosthetic devices
may prove otherwise. Take, for example, the vOICe system
developed by Peter Meijer. This device uses a video camera
mounted on a pair of sunglasses to film the landscape. The
pixelated picture is then converted into sounds that are
delivered to the wearer via headphones. Brighter objects sound
louder, and objects higher up in the visual field are heard as
pitches of higher frequency. With practice, individuals, even
those who have been blind since birth, can use vOICe to locate
objects. They discover how the soundscape of the object varies
as they move; they experience a sense of perspective and a
feeling of space and openness. In other words, their sensations
seem very vision-like.  "Seeing" with vOICe is very reminiscent
of the sensory substitution devices that the late Paul Bach-y-
Rita developed in the 1960's. They are b