News on Screen

Series

Series Name

Frontier

Issue

Issue No.

12

Date Released

1965

Completion

May 1965

Length of issue (in feet)

505

Stories in this Issue:

• 1. Sonic Aids For Blind

Story

Story No. within this Issue

1 / 1

Summary

COI synopsis: Scientists in many countries are working on equipment which will aid the mobility of blind people. In this issue of Frontier, Dr L. Kay, of the Lanchester College of Technology, talks about the sonic aid which he has produced. Following the principles of sonic guidance used by porpoises, sea lions and bats he has evolved a torch which emits sonic pulses whose echoes from surrounding objects are received back with a pitch which varies with distance and density. This sonic torch is in production for extensive evaluation trials by blind people in many countries so that the psychlogical problems of its use can assessed and teaching techniques worked out. But already Dr. Kay is at work on improvements to his aid so that it can be worn as a pair of spectacles with the echoes heard in both ears so that the blind person can place the reglecting object in its true spacial relationship.

Keywords

Science and technology; Engineering; Disabled persons

Written sources

COI Catalogue Cards [BFI National Archive]
The British National Film Catalogue   Vol. 3 1965, p 27
COI Microfilm Roll 45 [BFI National Archive]   Used for synopsis

COI Reference

MI 1233/12

Credits:

Sponsor

Central Office of Information (COI)

Sponsor

Commonwealth Relations Office

Director

Margaret Thomson

Producer

Philip Dann

Production Co.

Philomel Productions Ltd

This series is held by:

Film Archive

Name

British Film Institute (BFI)

Email

For BFI National Archive enquiries:
nonfictioncurators@bfi.org.uk
For commercial/footage reuse enquiries:
footage.films@bfi.org.uk

Web

http://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web

Phone

020 7255 1444

Fax

020 7580 7503

Address

21 Stephen Street
London W1T 1LN

Notes

The BFI National Archive also preserves the original nitrate film copies of British Movietone News, British Paramount News, Empire News Bulletin, Gaumont British News, Gaumont Graphic, Gaumont Sound News and Universal News (the World War II years are covered by the Imperial War Museum).

Series held

View all series held by British Film Institute (BFI)