Abstract
While prior studies on visual-to-auditory sensory substitution (VASS) have focused on technological development, practical adoption remains limited. This study explores how students with visual impairment and special educators in South Korea perceive the usability and potential improvements of VASS after brief training. Drawing on semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis, the study identified four overarching themes (i.e., perceived value, influencing factors, real-world challenges, and suggestions for improvement) spanning 18 subthemes. Participants noticed the potential of VASS to enhance learning, spatial reasoning, creativity, and engagement, while also highlighting limitations including high cognitive load, unclear comparative advantage over conventional assistive tools, and the absence of structured training protocols. The findings emphasize the importance of user-centered design, adaptive training, and multisensory integration for future development of sensory substitution systems in educational and daily contexts.
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