NEW MAN-MACHINE INTERFACE DESIGNS AND TECHNIQUES ARE INCREASINGLY NEEDED TO PROVIDE TELEPRESENCE IN ROBOTIC AND TELEOPERATED SYSTEMS.

NEW MAN-MACHINE INTERFACE DESIGNS AND TECHNIQUES ARE INCREASINGLY NEEDED TO PROVIDE TELEPRESENCE IN ROBOTIC AND TELEOPERATED SYSTEMS. ONE METHOD OF IMPROVING TELEOPERATOR CONTROL IS BY PROVIDING AUDITORY FEEDBACK IN A WAY THAT CLOSELY APPROXIMATES THE SPATIAL HEARING FOUND NATURALLY IN HUMAN BEINGS. THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THIS RESEARCH PROPOSAL IS HOW HUMANS LOCALIZE SOUND, BE IT LEFT, RIGHT, UP, DOWN, FRONT, BACK, NEAR OR FAR. THE GOAL OF THIS STUDY IS TO USE THE TIME DOMAIN TECHNIQUE OF MATCHED FILTER ANALYSIS TO MEASURE HOW THE EXTERNAL EAR MODIFIES ACOUSTICAL STIMULI INCIDENT UPON IT AS FUNCTION OF SOUND SOURCE RANGE AND DIRECTION. THIS INFORMATION WILL THEN BE USED TO FURTHER DEVELOP SYSTEMS THAT CAN RECORD AND REPRODUCE ACOUSTIC SPACE AS WELL AS ELECTRONICALLY SYNTHESIZE AUDITORY CUES FOR SOUND SOURCE LOCALE. ULTIMATELY, THE GOAL WILL BE THE REPRODUCTION OF SOUND IN SUCH A WAY AS TO BE INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM REALITY.