Cargando…

Effectiveness of time-varying echo information for target geometry identification in bat-inspired human echolocation

Bats use echolocation through flexible active sensing via ultrasounds to identify environments suitable for their habitat and foraging. Mimicking the sensing strategies of bats for echolocation, this study examined how humans acquire new acoustic-sensing abilities, and proposes effective strategies...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Sumiya, Miwa, Ashihara, Kaoru, Watanabe, Hiroki, Terada, Tsutomu, Hiryu, Shizuko, Ando, Hiroshi
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8099053/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33951069
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250517
_version_ 1783688523411357696
author Sumiya, Miwa
Ashihara, Kaoru
Watanabe, Hiroki
Terada, Tsutomu
Hiryu, Shizuko
Ando, Hiroshi
author_facet Sumiya, Miwa
Ashihara, Kaoru
Watanabe, Hiroki
Terada, Tsutomu
Hiryu, Shizuko
Ando, Hiroshi
author_sort Sumiya, Miwa
collection PubMed
description Bats use echolocation through flexible active sensing via ultrasounds to identify environments suitable for their habitat and foraging. Mimicking the sensing strategies of bats for echolocation, this study examined how humans acquire new acoustic-sensing abilities, and proposes effective strategies for humans. A target geometry identification experiment—involving 15 sighted people without experience of echolocation—was conducted using two targets with different geometries, based on a new sensing system. Broadband frequency-modulated pulses with short inter-pulse intervals (16 ms) were used as a synthetic echolocation signal. Such pulses mimic buzz signals emitted by bats for echolocation prior to capturing their prey. The study participants emitted the signal from a loudspeaker by tapping on Android devices. Because the signal included high-frequency signals up to 41 kHz, the emitted signal and echoes from a stationary or rotating target were recorded using a 1/7-scaled miniature dummy head. Binaural sounds, whose pitch was down-converted, were presented through headphones. This way, time-varying echo information was made available as an acoustic cue for target geometry identification under a rotating condition, as opposed to a stationary one. In both trials, with (i.e., training trials) and without (i.e., test trials) answer feedback immediately after the participants answered, the participants identified the geometries under the rotating condition. Majority of the participants reported using time-varying patterns in terms of echo intensity, timbre, and/or pitch under the rotating condition. The results suggest that using time-varying patterns in echo intensity, timbre, and/or pitch enables humans to identify target geometries. However, performance significantly differed by condition (i.e., stationary vs. rotating) only in the test trials. This difference suggests that time-varying echo information is effective for identifying target geometry through human echolocation especially when echolocators are unable to obtain answer feedback during sensing.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-8099053
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2021
publisher Public Library of Science
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-80990532021-05-17 Effectiveness of time-varying echo information for target geometry identification in bat-inspired human echolocation Sumiya, Miwa Ashihara, Kaoru Watanabe, Hiroki Terada, Tsutomu Hiryu, Shizuko Ando, Hiroshi PLoS One Research Article Bats use echolocation through flexible active sensing via ultrasounds to identify environments suitable for their habitat and foraging. Mimicking the sensing strategies of bats for echolocation, this study examined how humans acquire new acoustic-sensing abilities, and proposes effective strategies for humans. A target geometry identification experiment—involving 15 sighted people without experience of echolocation—was conducted using two targets with different geometries, based on a new sensing system. Broadband frequency-modulated pulses with short inter-pulse intervals (16 ms) were used as a synthetic echolocation signal. Such pulses mimic buzz signals emitted by bats for echolocation prior to capturing their prey. The study participants emitted the signal from a loudspeaker by tapping on Android devices. Because the signal included high-frequency signals up to 41 kHz, the emitted signal and echoes from a stationary or rotating target were recorded using a 1/7-scaled miniature dummy head. Binaural sounds, whose pitch was down-converted, were presented through headphones. This way, time-varying echo information was made available as an acoustic cue for target geometry identification under a rotating condition, as opposed to a stationary one. In both trials, with (i.e., training trials) and without (i.e., test trials) answer feedback immediately after the participants answered, the participants identified the geometries under the rotating condition. Majority of the participants reported using time-varying patterns in terms of echo intensity, timbre, and/or pitch under the rotating condition. The results suggest that using time-varying patterns in echo intensity, timbre, and/or pitch enables humans to identify target geometries. However, performance significantly differed by condition (i.e., stationary vs. rotating) only in the test trials. This difference suggests that time-varying echo information is effective for identifying target geometry through human echolocation especially when echolocators are unable to obtain answer feedback during sensing. Public Library of Science 2021-05-05 /pmc/articles/PMC8099053/ /pubmed/33951069 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250517 Text en © 2021 Sumiya et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Sumiya, Miwa
Ashihara, Kaoru
Watanabe, Hiroki
Terada, Tsutomu
Hiryu, Shizuko
Ando, Hiroshi
Effectiveness of time-varying echo information for target geometry identification in bat-inspired human echolocation
title Effectiveness of time-varying echo information for target geometry identification in bat-inspired human echolocation
title_full Effectiveness of time-varying echo information for target geometry identification in bat-inspired human echolocation
title_fullStr Effectiveness of time-varying echo information for target geometry identification in bat-inspired human echolocation
title_full_unstemmed Effectiveness of time-varying echo information for target geometry identification in bat-inspired human echolocation
title_short Effectiveness of time-varying echo information for target geometry identification in bat-inspired human echolocation
title_sort effectiveness of time-varying echo information for target geometry identification in bat-inspired human echolocation
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8099053/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33951069
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250517
work_keys_str_mv AT sumiyamiwa effectivenessoftimevaryingechoinformationfortargetgeometryidentificationinbatinspiredhumanecholocation
AT ashiharakaoru effectivenessoftimevaryingechoinformationfortargetgeometryidentificationinbatinspiredhumanecholocation
AT watanabehiroki effectivenessoftimevaryingechoinformationfortargetgeometryidentificationinbatinspiredhumanecholocation
AT teradatsutomu effectivenessoftimevaryingechoinformationfortargetgeometryidentificationinbatinspiredhumanecholocation
AT hiryushizuko effectivenessoftimevaryingechoinformationfortargetgeometryidentificationinbatinspiredhumanecholocation
AT andohiroshi effectivenessoftimevaryingechoinformationfortargetgeometryidentificationinbatinspiredhumanecholocation