Interactive Acoustic Analysis Processor

This proposal describes a unique method and system for decomposing a composite acoustic observation into a consistent set of sources. Unlike many current approaches, the emphasis in this method is to maximize the human auditory system's unparalleled ability to associate signal components in a cluttered environment. Visual and audio tools are combined to allow rapid evaluation of decomposition hypotheses and to record statistical results. The human auditory system is capable of many remarkable feats, including the recognition of familiar sources using only short intervals of very corrupted data, and the association of signal components from many practical acoustic problems, human interpretation may be the best tool available for several objectives, especially the proper decomposition of a composite signal into its several sources and subsequent formulation of mathematical or physical models of acoustic events. This is particularly true in sonar and the study of marine mammal vocalizations. This paper describes an interactive analysis system developed with the expressed intent to facilitate human auditory interpretation of acoustic signals. The system provides the analyst with a set of audio tools to facilitate auditory hypothesis testing and supplements them with visual and statistical descriptions.