The Perception - Artificial Human Sensors: Science and Applications - page 70

category in order to provide impaired sensing abilities. This approach of concept
also involves the aim of a vital social influence on increasing perception and the
possible action in certain situations.
A possible approach for blind individuals to use the body skin as the interface
when receiving information from an artificial build-in spectacles, processed and
further interfaced with the user. The area of a room can, as illustrated, be framed
on the body skin. Obstacle, and the person's location in the room can be communi-
cated in the tactile sensory. The examples illustrated a possible interaction strategy
between a supportive system and an individual person in a human-system inter-
action as illustrated in Fig. 3.8.
This approach will probably give rise to a number of questions that each of
them needs to adequately answer. The following questions can be asked:
On the other hand, a key question is whether we, as humans, exhibit an increased
true capability when supporting our perceptual information with complementary artificial
sensor data?
Do we manage to handle the external information and integrate well-defined specific
and pertinent data on the right spot time?
Will actually the individual make more precise, suitable actions and well-founded de-
cisions or will it lead to information overload in the long run and create a more vulnerable
individual? Do we consider it a pleasure in receiving additional and artificial based infor-
mation?
And finally, do we get an enriched life by supporting the human-based sensing ability?
In other words, are the proposed artificial based sensing process able to, result in
abilities that increase the enriched human sensing capabilities and, would it be
able to provide an individual with not only an extensive world contact, but also
support to prolong the human's quality of life.
In a common situation, where people for example, need additional and artifi-
cial sensations to compensate for seasonal affective disorder that can be illustrated
in activities of light therapy for people suffering from harsh winters and lack of
sunlight during part of the year, Rosenthal (1998). The effect of light therapy has
in recent years been questioned as the evidence, is regarded insufficient to de-
termine the real effect of light therapy, SBU report (2007). Another argument for
increased perceptual added sensations are stated when people experience music
for enhanced health, mental stimulation or simply relaxation, for example the fa-
mous “Mozart effect” in Rauscher (1993), but are also criticised in Jenkins (2001).
Nelson (2008) states that music may play an important role as an adjunct therapy
in critical care. Also reported, an increased relaxation was established in medical
operations by both doctors and patients, by reducing, e.g., blood pressure, heart
rate, stress hormones and amount of pain medicine to be taken, Conrad (2008), or
enhancing learning, Jausovec (2006). Both examples show, even if further studies
are necessary, that induced additive perception are seen as illustrative processes
for increasing the perceptual sensations that provide an additive feeling in specific
situations. If these actions taken will provide elderly people to get the possibility