When I was in high school, I had a blind friend who used something similar to do some rather amazing things. He would follow me on his bicycle (!), tracking by the sound the bike made. Solo, he could turn into the driveway next to his house. When prompted, he told me he could tell where he was by the trees. What? "Yes, I can hear the sound the trees make". The light rustling of the leaves, the reflection of the bike's sound off the tree itself.

I suspect that we may use a bit of this already without being aware of it.

I have always felt that there are opportunities to extend our senses, not only by practice as suggested by the article, but also by some sort of electronic assist.