Vision

Blindness is still very often regarded as a serious deficiency which needs to be compensated for through the use of implants and prostheses so that the blind person can comply with the standards.

However, during my research I found that the loss of eye-sight is often made up for through an extra sensitivity in the other senses. Some congenitally blind people have even developed a sixth sense similar to the radar of bats and dolphins which helps them to orientate.

Despite the fact that most visually impaired people can manage very well on their own, a lot of research projects still focus on repairing the one sense they are missing, instead of concentrating on the other remaining senses.

In my own research project I try to look upon blindness as a human right. Any adaptations are made to the environment, not to the blind body, hereby creating intelligent surroundings, sensitive to the physical conditions of those who inhabits them and responsive to their needs.