Amazon tree dominance across forest strata.

The forests of Amazonia are among the most biodiverse plant communities on Earth. Given the immediate threats posed by climate and land-use change, an improved understanding of how this extraordinary biodiversity is spatially organized is urgently required to develop effective conservation strategies. Most Amazonian tree species are extremely rare but a few are common across the region.

Indoor orientation and mobility for learners who are blind.

This study consisted of designing a mobile technology to identify the position and orientation of people who are blind in closed environments, such as a school, building or home, identifying the necessary infrastructure based on criteria of usability, reliability and accessibility, in order for PocketPC device interface developers to be able to define the technology to be used at an early stage. The technology consisted of using PocketPC devices with a data collecting application and another for the representation of space. We evaluated its usability, accessibility, reliability, efficiency, and availability.

Enhancing Navigation Skills through Audio Gaming.

We present the design, development and initial cognitive evaluation of an Audio-based Environment Simulator (AbES). This software allows a blind user to navigate through a virtual representation of a real space for the purposes of training orientation and mobility skills. Our findings indicate that users feel satisfied and self-confident when interacting with the audio-based interface, and the embedded sounds allow them to correctly orient themselves and navigate within the virtual world.

Navigation for the Blind through Audio-Based Virtual Environments.

We present the design, development and an initial study changes and adaptations related to navigation that take place in the brain, by incorporating an Audio-Based Environments Simulator (AbES) within a neuroimaging environment. This virtual environment enables a blind user to navigate through a virtual representation of a real space in order to train his/her orientation and mobility skills. Our initial results suggest that this kind of virtual environment could be highly efficient as a testing, training and rehabilitation platform for learning and navigation.

Three-dimensional virtual environments for blind children.

Information technologies are increasingly helping to integrate and socially include people with visual disabilities. Computing technologies have contributed grandly to attain this goal through innovative techniques and applications. Virtual environments, I/O interfaces, and sound based applications altogether with usability and cognitive impact studies are some of the most used research designs for children with visual disabilities.