Superhuman spatial hearing technology for ultrasonic frequencies

Abstract Ultrasonic sources are inaudible to humans, and while digital signal processing techniques are available to bring ultrasonic signals into the audible range, there are currently no systems which also simultaneously permit the listener to localise the sources through spatial hearing. Therefor...

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Autores principales: Ville Pulkki, Leo McCormack, Raimundo Gonzalez
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: Nature Portfolio 2021
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/b7102fba12b04aeab0e393122ed0f044
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:b7102fba12b04aeab0e393122ed0f0442021-12-02T15:03:05ZSuperhuman spatial hearing technology for ultrasonic frequencies10.1038/s41598-021-90829-92045-2322https://doaj.org/article/b7102fba12b04aeab0e393122ed0f0442021-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-90829-9https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Ultrasonic sources are inaudible to humans, and while digital signal processing techniques are available to bring ultrasonic signals into the audible range, there are currently no systems which also simultaneously permit the listener to localise the sources through spatial hearing. Therefore, we describe a method whereby an in-situ listener with normal binaural hearing can localise ultrasonic sources in real-time; opening-up new applications, such as the monitoring of certain forms of wild life in their habitats and man-made systems. In this work, an array of ultrasonic microphones is mounted to headphones, and the spatial parameters of the ultrasonic sound-field are extracted. A pitch-shifted signal is then rendered to the headphones with spatial properties dictated by the estimated parameters. The processing provides the listener with the spatial cues that would normally occur if the acoustic wave produced by the source were to arrive at the listener having already been pitch-shifted. The results show that the localisation accuracy delivered by the proof-of-concept device implemented here is almost as good as with audible sources, as tested both in the laboratory and under conditions in the field.Ville PulkkiLeo McCormackRaimundo GonzalezNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Medicine
R
Science
Q
spellingShingle Medicine
R
Science
Q
Ville Pulkki
Leo McCormack
Raimundo Gonzalez
Superhuman spatial hearing technology for ultrasonic frequencies
description Abstract Ultrasonic sources are inaudible to humans, and while digital signal processing techniques are available to bring ultrasonic signals into the audible range, there are currently no systems which also simultaneously permit the listener to localise the sources through spatial hearing. Therefore, we describe a method whereby an in-situ listener with normal binaural hearing can localise ultrasonic sources in real-time; opening-up new applications, such as the monitoring of certain forms of wild life in their habitats and man-made systems. In this work, an array of ultrasonic microphones is mounted to headphones, and the spatial parameters of the ultrasonic sound-field are extracted. A pitch-shifted signal is then rendered to the headphones with spatial properties dictated by the estimated parameters. The processing provides the listener with the spatial cues that would normally occur if the acoustic wave produced by the source were to arrive at the listener having already been pitch-shifted. The results show that the localisation accuracy delivered by the proof-of-concept device implemented here is almost as good as with audible sources, as tested both in the laboratory and under conditions in the field.
format article
author Ville Pulkki
Leo McCormack
Raimundo Gonzalez
author_facet Ville Pulkki
Leo McCormack
Raimundo Gonzalez
author_sort Ville Pulkki
title Superhuman spatial hearing technology for ultrasonic frequencies
title_short Superhuman spatial hearing technology for ultrasonic frequencies
title_full Superhuman spatial hearing technology for ultrasonic frequencies
title_fullStr Superhuman spatial hearing technology for ultrasonic frequencies
title_full_unstemmed Superhuman spatial hearing technology for ultrasonic frequencies
title_sort superhuman spatial hearing technology for ultrasonic frequencies
publisher Nature Portfolio
publishDate 2021
url https://doaj.org/article/b7102fba12b04aeab0e393122ed0f044
work_keys_str_mv AT villepulkki superhumanspatialhearingtechnologyforultrasonicfrequencies
AT leomccormack superhumanspatialhearingtechnologyforultrasonicfrequencies
AT raimundogonzalez superhumanspatialhearingtechnologyforultrasonicfrequencies
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