Acquisition of Acoustical Instrumentation and Computer Systems for Research in Hearing and Speech Sciences

采购声学仪器和计算机系统用于听力和言语科学研究

• 批准号: 0079468
• 负责人: Gary Kidd
• 金额: $ 15.73万
• 依托单位: Indiana University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2000
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2000-08-01 至 2002-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0079468&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Acquisition; Acoustical; Instrumentation; Computer; Systems

Kidd0079468This proposal seeks funds to equip two laboratories to be used as shared resources for a wide range of experiments in speech and hearing sciences. The two facilities are: (1) the Multi-station Auditory-Visual Laboratory (MAV Lab) and (2) the Anechoic-Echoic Laboratory (AEL). Both laboratories are to be equipped with networked computers with flexible experiment-control software for stimulus presentation and data collection. The MAV Lab will also serve as a general purpose multi-station testing facility for evaluation of speech and language abilities and for speech recording. The requested equipment will allow a very productive group of researchers to conduct a wider range of research with much greater efficiency.The Multi-station Auditory-Visual Laboratory (AM FLab) will be constructed to house up to ten study participants in two large double-walled, sound-treated booths that will permit computer presentation of auditory and visual stimuli at each of ten independent testing stations. The large sound-treated rooms will enable threshold-level sound intensities to be presented via headphones in various experiments while concurrently allowing for the testing of up to ten participants simultaneously. The use of two separate booths in this space will provide more flexibility in the use and scheduling of the facilities. Each testing station will be equipped with a 17" highresolution color monitor, keyboard and mouse, as well as a microphone for voice recording. These components from each testing station will be connected to separate Pentium III, 600-MHZ computers with accompanying electronic equipment needed for sophisticated listening experiments (programmable attenuators with 96 dB signal-to-noise ratios; multi-channel, 16bit, digital-to-analog converters with signal-processing array processors). The ten computers (one per testing station) will be housed in a separate room outside the double-walled booth to minimize internally generated noise in the test area. The MAV Lab will enable state-of-the-art testing in the areas of auditory perception, speech perception, visual perception, combined auditory-visual perception, language development, and general cognitive function.The Anechoic-Echoic Laboratory (AEL) will be housed in a facility that was refurbished by Indiana University approximately seven years ago. It is a unique facility with a large anechoic chamber immediately adjacent to an equally large echoic room, both specially constructed to eliminate outside noise and vibration. The facility, however, has seen very little use because of the lack of appropriate test equipment. This proposal requests funds to equip both the anechoic and echoic chambers with a computer-based stimulus-delivery and response-collection system, a computer dedicated for use in making complex acoustical measurements. A computer-controlled loudspeaker system that will permit precise, quiet movement of a loudspeaker at specified velocities along a circular path surrounding the human listener will be installed in the anechoic chamber. This system will be used to study the localization of sound, the perception of speech in background noise under real-world conditions, and the perception of the movement of sound sources in space.These two facilities will be used by several investigators in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences and their colleagues in other departments at Indiana University and at other universities. Several of the investigators will use the facilities for multidisciplinary projects that include a wide range of populations (e.g., infants, grade-school children, young adults, and the elderly) and many different disciplines (including physics, engineering, and architectural acoustics). These new laboratories will also provide state-of-the-art facilities for research training of students in Speech and Hearing Sciences. Additionally, the special capabilities of the AEL will be used for collaborative research with hearing aid manufacturers and engineers in the evaluation of new directional microphone technologies.

Kidd 0079468该提案寻求资金，以装备两个实验室，作为共享资源，用于语言和听力科学的广泛实验。这两个设施是：（1）多站视听实验室（MAV实验室）和（2）无回声实验室（AEL）。两个实验室都将配备联网计算机，并配备灵活的实验控制软件，用于刺激演示和数据收集。MAV实验室还将作为一个通用的多站测试设施，用于评估语音和语言能力以及语音记录。所要求的设备将使一个非常富有成效的研究小组能够以更高的效率进行更广泛的研究。多站视听实验室（AM FLab）将被建造成在两个大型双层墙的隔音隔间中容纳多达10名研究参与者，这将允许在10个独立测试站中的每一个测试站中使用计算机呈现听觉和视觉刺激。经过声音处理的大型房间将能够在各种实验中通过耳机呈现阈值水平的声音强度，同时允许同时对多达10名参与者进行测试。在这一空间使用两个单独的会议室将使设施的使用和安排更加灵活。每个测试站将配备一个17英寸高分辨率彩色显示器、键盘和鼠标，以及一个用于录音的麦克风。每个测试站的这些部件将连接到单独的Pentium III 600-MHZ计算机上，计算机附带复杂听力实验所需的电子设备（具有96 dB信噪比的可编程衰减器;具有信号处理阵列处理器的多通道16位数模转换器）。10台计算机（每个测试站一台）将被安置在双层壁隔间外的单独房间内，以尽量减少测试区域内产生的噪音。MAV实验室将在听觉感知、言语感知、视觉感知、听觉-视觉联合感知、语言发育和一般认知功能等领域进行最先进的测试。无回声回声实验室（AEL）将设在印第安纳州大学大约七年前翻新的设施内。这是一个独特的设施，一个大型消声室紧邻一个同样大的回声室，两者都是专门建造的，以消除外部噪音和振动。然而，由于缺乏适当的测试设备，该设施很少使用。该提案要求提供资金，为消声室和回声室配备一个计算机刺激传递和反应收集系统，这是一个专门用于进行复杂声学测量的计算机。将在消声室中安装一个计算机控制的扬声器系统，该系统将允许扬声器以特定速度沿着环绕人类收听者的圆形路径精确、安静地移动。该系统将用于研究声音的定位，在真实世界条件下背景噪声中的语音感知，以及空间声源运动的感知。这两个设备将由印第安纳州大学言语和听力科学系的几位研究人员及其在其他系的同事和其他大学使用。一些研究人员将使用这些设施进行多学科项目，包括广泛的人群（例如，婴儿、小学生、年轻人和老年人）和许多不同的学科（包括物理学、工程学和建筑声学）。这些新的实验室还将提供最先进的设施，为语音和听力科学的学生提供研究培训。此外，AEL的特殊功能将用于与助听器制造商和工程师合作研究，评估新的定向麦克风技术。