scholarly journals Visualization of bat “echo space” using acoustic simulation

Author(s):  
Yu Teshima ◽  
Yasufumi Yamada ◽  
Takao Tsuchiya ◽  
Olga Heim ◽  
Shizuko Hiryu

Abstract Behavioral experiments with acoustic measurements have revealed the intriguing strategies of flight navigation and the use of ultrasound by echolocating bats in various environments. However, the echolocation behavior of bats has not been thoroughly investigated in regard to the environment they perceive via echolocation because it is technically difficult to measure all the echoes that reach the bats during flight, even with the conventional telemetry microphones currently in use. Therefore, we attempted to reproduce the echoes of bats during flight by combining acoustic simulation and behavioral experiments with acoustic measurements. As a result, we visualized the spatiotemporal changes in the echo incidence points detected by bats during flight, which enabled us to investigate the “echo space” revealed through echolocation. In addition, we could observe how the distribution of visualized echoes concentrated at the obstacle edges after the bats became more familiar with their environment. Furthermore, our results indicate that the direction of preceding echoes affects the turn rates of the bat's flight path, revealing their original echolocation behavior.

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (12) ◽  
pp. 3991-3999
Author(s):  
Benjamin van der Woerd ◽  
Min Wu ◽  
Vijay Parsa ◽  
Philip C. Doyle ◽  
Kevin Fung

Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the fidelity and accuracy of a smartphone microphone and recording environment on acoustic measurements of voice. Method A prospective cohort proof-of-concept study. Two sets of prerecorded samples (a) sustained vowels (/a/) and (b) Rainbow Passage sentence were played for recording via the internal iPhone microphone and the Blue Yeti USB microphone in two recording environments: a sound-treated booth and quiet office setting. Recordings were presented using a calibrated mannequin speaker with a fixed signal intensity (69 dBA), at a fixed distance (15 in.). Each set of recordings (iPhone—audio booth, Blue Yeti—audio booth, iPhone—office, and Blue Yeti—office), was time-windowed to ensure the same signal was evaluated for each condition. Acoustic measures of voice including fundamental frequency ( f o ), jitter, shimmer, harmonic-to-noise ratio (HNR), and cepstral peak prominence (CPP), were generated using a widely used analysis program (Praat Version 6.0.50). The data gathered were compared using a repeated measures analysis of variance. Two separate data sets were used. The set of vowel samples included both pathologic ( n = 10) and normal ( n = 10), male ( n = 5) and female ( n = 15) speakers. The set of sentence stimuli ranged in perceived voice quality from normal to severely disordered with an equal number of male ( n = 12) and female ( n = 12) speakers evaluated. Results The vowel analyses indicated that the jitter, shimmer, HNR, and CPP were significantly different based on microphone choice and shimmer, HNR, and CPP were significantly different based on the recording environment. Analysis of sentences revealed a statistically significant impact of recording environment and microphone type on HNR and CPP. While statistically significant, the differences across the experimental conditions for a subset of the acoustic measures (viz., jitter and CPP) have shown differences that fell within their respective normative ranges. Conclusions Both microphone and recording setting resulted in significant differences across several acoustic measurements. However, a subset of the acoustic measures that were statistically significant across the recording conditions showed small overall differences that are unlikely to have clinical significance in interpretation. For these acoustic measures, the present data suggest that, although a sound-treated setting is ideal for voice sample collection, a smartphone microphone can capture acceptable recordings for acoustic signal analysis.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Van Benthem ◽  
Chris M. Herdman

Abstract. Identifying pilot attributes associated with risk is important, especially in general aviation where pilot error is implicated in most accidents. This research examined the relationship of pilot age, expertise, and cognitive functioning to deviations from an ideal circuit trajectory. In all, 54 pilots, of varying age, flew a Cessna 172 simulator. Cognitive measures were obtained using the CogScreen-AE ( Kay, 1995 ). Older age and lower levels of expertise and cognitive functioning were associated with significantly greater flight path deviations. The relationship between age and performance was fully mediated by a cluster of cognitive factors: speed and working memory, visual attention, and cognitive flexibility. These findings add to the literature showing that age-related changes in cognition may impact pilot performance.


2019 ◽  
pp. 40-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
V.V. Savchenko ◽  
A.V. Savchenko

We consider the task of automated quality control of sound recordings containing voice samples of individuals. It is shown that in this task the most acute is the small sample size. In order to overcome this problem, we propose the novel method of acoustic measurements based on relative stability of the pitch frequency within a voice sample of short duration. An example of its practical implementation using aninter-periodic accumulation of a speech signal is considered. An experimental study with specially developed software provides statistical estimates of the effectiveness of the proposed method in noisy environments. It is shown that this method rejects the audio recording as unsuitable for a voice biometric identification with a probability of 0,95 or more for a signal to noise ratio below 15 dB. The obtained results are intended for use in the development of new and modifying existing systems of collecting and automated quality control of biometric personal data. The article is intended for a wide range of specialists in the field of acoustic measurements and digital processing of speech signals, as well as for practitioners who organize the work of authorized organizations in preparing for registration samples of biometric personal data.


2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 40407-1-40407-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ran Pang ◽  
He Huang ◽  
Tri Dev Acharya

Abstract Yongding River is one of the five major river systems in Beijing. It is located to the west of Beijing. It has influenced culture along its basin. The river supports both rural and urban areas. Furthermore, it influences economic development, water conservation, and the natural environment. However, during the past few decades, due to the combined effect of increasing population and economic activities, a series of changes have led to problems such as the reduction in water volume and the exposure of the riverbed. In this study, remote sensing images were used to derive land cover maps and compare spatiotemporal changes during the past 40 years. As a result, the following data were found: forest changed least; cropland area increased to a large extent; bareland area was reduced by a maximum of 63%; surface water area in the study area was lower from 1989 to 1999 because of the excessive use of water in human activities, but it increased by 92% from 2010 to 2018 as awareness about protecting the environment arose; there was a small increase in the built-up area, but this was more planned. These results reveal that water conservancy construction, agroforestry activities, and increasing urbanization have a great impact on the surrounding environment of the Yongding River (Beijing section). This study discusses in detail how the current situation can be attributed to of human activities, policies, economic development, and ecological conservation Furthermore, it suggests improvement by strengthening the governance of the riverbed and the riverside. These results and discussion can be a reference and provide decision support for the management of southwest Beijing or similar river basins in peri-urban areas.


Author(s):  
V.I. Garshin ◽  
◽  
A.R. Lebedev ◽  
S.E. Geraskova ◽  
◽  
...  

The article shows the relations for modeling an inhomogeneous electric field and the flight path of a drop of galvanic electrolyte in it. Estimates are preliminary. Articles and patents of authors in which non-uniform fields are already used are given. A modified trajectory method is proposed for evaluating the effectiveness of trapping harmful electrolyte droplets.


2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-202
Author(s):  
Wojciech Batko ◽  
Renata Bal

Abstract The assessment of the uncertainty of measurement results, an essential problem in environmental acoustic investigations, is undertaken in the paper. An attention is drawn to the - usually omitted - problem of the verification of assumptions related to using the classic methods of the confidence intervals estimation, for the controlled measuring quantity. Especially the paper directs attention to the need of the verification of the assumption of the normal distribution of the measuring quantity set, being the base for the existing and binding procedures of the acoustic measurements assessment uncertainty. The essence of the undertaken problem concerns the binding legal and standard acts related to acoustic measurements and recommended in: 'Guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement' (GUM) (OIML 1993), developed under the aegis of the International Bureau of Measures (BIPM). The model legitimacy of the hypothesis of the normal distribution of the measuring quantity set in acoustic measurements is discussed and supplemented by testing its likelihood on the environment acoustic results. The Jarque-Bery test based on skewness and flattening (curtosis) distribution measures was used for the analysis of results verifying the assumption. This test allows for the simultaneous analysis of the deviation from the normal distribution caused both by its skewness and flattening. The performed experiments concerned analyses of the distribution of sound levels: LD, LE, LN, LDWN, being the basic noise indicators in assessments of the environment acoustic hazards.


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