Technology to access recreational fitness programs by adding sensory stimuli to existing auditory information.

Hearing is one of the five major "senses." Deaf and hard of hearing persons are deprived of this vital source of information in all their daily activites. The Principal Investigator is privy to the latest technology as it breaks. Highly integrated chips will be used in the battery operated, portable device to convert "foot kinetics" information from an exercise instructor and transmit them to a local receiver via wireless waves for further processing. The Computer will process and encode customized synthesized sound or text or visual light signals based on the "foot kinetic" information along with background music, if desired. The enhanced information is retransmitted to the students via several media, depending on student preference. The three assistive devices are designed to work with relatively common and inexpensive assistive devices such as loop compatible hearing aids, infra red or RF cordless head-phones and FM receivers. These devices are universally acceptable as they do not interfere with the enjoyment of hearing participants. The encoder will be developed to enhance audio and visual information, foot kinetics, and cued language instructions for use with caption decoders on TV, VCR tapes and CD-ROM. These should all help hearing impaired students to synchronize better with the instructor's movements.