Echolocation call intensity and directionality in flying short-tailed fruit bats, Carollia perspicillata (Phyllostomidae)

The directionality of bat echolocation calls defines the width of bats' sonar "view," while call intensity directly influences detection range since adequate sound energy must impinge upon objects to return audible echoes. Both are thus crucial parameters for understanding biosonar signal design. Phyllostomid bats have been classified as low intensity or "whispering bats," but recent data indicate that this designation may be inaccurate. Echolocation beam directionality in phyllostomids has only been measured through electrode brain-stimulation of restrained bats, presumably excluding active beam control via the noseleaf. Here, a 12-microphone array was used to measure echolocation call intensity and beam directionality in the frugivorous phyllostomid, Carollia perspicillata, echolocating in flight. The results showed a considerably narrower beam shape (half-amplitude beam angles of approximately 16° horizontally and 14° vertically) and louder echolocation calls [source levels averaging 99 dB sound pressure level (SPL) root mean square] for C. perspicillata than was found for this species when stationary. This suggests that naturally behaving phyllostomids shape their sound beam to achieve a longer and narrower sonar range than previously thought. C. perspicillata orient and forage in the forest interior and the narrow beam might be adaptive in clutter, by reducing the number and intensity of off-axis echoes.     

Clutter interference and the integration time of echoes in the echolocating bat, Eptesicus fuscus

The ability of the echolocating bat, Eptesicus fuscus, to detect a sonar target is affected by the presence of other targets along the same axis at slightly different ranges. If echoes from one target arrive at about the same delay as echoes from another target, clutter interference occurs and one set of echoes masks the other. Although the bat's sonar emissions and the echoes themselves are 2 to 5 ms long, echoes (of approximately equal sensation levels--around 15 dB SL) only interfere with each other if they arrive within 200 to 400 microseconds of the same arrival time. This figure is an estimate of the integration time of the bat's sonar receiver for echoes. The fine structure of the clutter-interference data reflects the reinforcement and cancellation of echoes according to their time separation. When clutter interference first occurs, the waveforms of test and cluttering echoes already overlap for much of their duration. The masking effect underlying clutter interference appears specifically due to overlap, not between raw echo waveforms, but between the patterns of mechanical excitation created when echoes pass through bandpass filters equivalent to auditory-nerve tuning curves. While the time scale of clutter interference is substantially shorter than the duration of echo waveforms, it still is much longer than the eventual width of a target's range-axis image expressed in terms of echo delay.     

The role of the external ear in vertical sound localization in the free flying bat, Eptesicus fuscus

The role of the external ear in sonar target localization for prey capture was studied by deflecting the tragus of six big brown bats, Eptesicus fuscus. The prey capture performance of the bat dropped significantly in the tragus-deflection condition, compared with baseline, control, and recovery conditions. Target localization error occurred in the tragus-deflected bat, and mainly in elevation. The deflection of the tragus did not abolish the prey capture ability of the bat, which suggests that other cues are available used for prey localization. Adaptive vocal and motor behaviors were also investigated in this study. The bat did not show significant changes in vocal behaviors but modified its flight trajectories in response to the tragus manipulation. The tragus-deflected bat tended to attack the prey item from above and had lower tangential velocity and larger bearing from the side, compared with baseline and recovery conditions. These findings highlight the contribution of the tragus to vertical sound localization in the free-flying big brown bat and demonstrate flight adaptations the bat makes to compensate altered acoustic cues.     

Range resolution and the possible use of spectral information in the echolocating bat, Eptesicus fuscus

Individuals of the echolocating bat Eptesicus fuscus were trained to discriminate simulated two-wave-front targets with internal time delays of 0 to 100 microns between the wave fronts from a one-wave-front target. The ability of bats to discriminate between such targets can be referred to as range resolution. In Eptesicus fuscus, this ability is limited to distinct internal time delays (12, 32-40, and 52-100 microns) between the two wave fronts of a double-wave-front target. Analysis of the simulated two-wave-front echoes reveals periodic frequency minima in the spectrum. Position and separation of these spectral minima depend on the time delay between the two wave fronts. The occurrence of spectral minima within the frequency range of the first harmonic in the echo of the bats' echolocation call correlates to the bats' ability to discriminate a one-wave-front echo from two-wave-front echoes, suggesting that Eptesicus fuscus uses spectral differences within the first harmonic in echoes for range resolution.     

Clutter interference along the target range axis in the echolocating bat, Eptesicus fuscus

The sensitivity of the echolocating bat, Eptesicus fuscus, for detection of a sonar target is impaired by the presence of additional targets located at similar distances. At a range of 54 cm, sensitivity to one target declines if the range separation to other targets is smaller than 8-9 cm. This loss of sensitivity is an example of clutter interference along the range axis, created by simultaneous masking of one set of echoes by another. Echoes that fall within an experimentally defined critical range band may sum together to contribute collectively to detection in that band. Echoes falling into separate bands may be detected independently. Acoustic glints within a band appear to be grouped together to be perceived as a single range-extended target of complex structure. Range bands may thus define what a "target" is by specifying within-target and between-target differences in range. The width of critical range bands appears to depend upon target range, with wider bands at greater ranges.     

Vocal control of acoustic information for sonar discriminations by the echolocating bat, Eptesicus fuscus

This study aimed to determine whether bats using frequency modulated (FM) echolocation signals adapt the features of their vocalizations to the perceptual demands of a particular sonar task. Quantitative measures were obtained from the vocal signals produced by echolocating bats (Eptesicus fuscus) that were trained to perform in two distinct perceptual tasks, echo delay and Doppler-shift discriminations. In both perceptual tasks, the bats learned to discriminate electronically manipulated playback signals of their own echolocation sounds, which simulated echoes from sonar targets. Both tasks utilized a single-channel electronic target simulator and tested the bat's in a two-alternative forced choice procedure. The results of this study demonstrate changes in the features of the FM bats' sonar sounds with echolocation task demands, lending support to the notion that this animal actively controls the echo information that guides its behavior.     

The concept of cyclic sound intensity and its application to acoustical imaging

This paper demonstrates how to take advantage of the cyclostationarity property of engine signals to define a new acoustical quantity, the cyclic sound intensity, which displays the instantaneous flux of acoustical energy in the angle-frequency domain during an average engine cycle. This quantity is attractive in that it possesses the ability of being instantaneous and averaged at the same time, thus reconciling two conflicting properties into a rigourous and unambiguous framework. Cyclic sound intensity is a rich concept with several original ramifications. Among other things, it returns a unique decomposition into instantaneous active and reactive parts. Associated to acoustical imaging techniques, it allows the construction of sound radiation movies that evolve within the engine cycle and whose each frame is a sound intensity map calculated at a specific time - or crankshaft angle - in the engine cycle. This enables the accurate localisation of sources in space, in frequency and in time (crankshaft angle). Furthermore, associated to cyclic Wiener filtering, this methodology makes it possible to decompose the overall radiated sound into several noise source contributions whose cyclic sound intensities can then be analysed independently.     

统计最优平面近场声全息原理与声场分离技术

测量孔径尺寸的有限性，在基于空间傅里叶变换的平面近场声全息中会带来窗效应和卷绕误差. 为了克服窗效应和卷绕误差，引入了统计最优平面近场声全息技术. 运用声场叠加原理，证明了统计最优平面近场声全息的理论公式.通过在空间波数域限定kx,ky的取值范围，并离散其确定的空间波数面的途径，提出了一种确定波数矢量的方法.为了克服常规统计最优平面近场声全息技术的应用局限性——全息面一侧的声场必须为自由声场，提出了适用于统计最优平面近场声全息的、基于双全息面测量的空间声场分离技术. 通过实验和数值仿真对理论推导的正确性进行了验证. 关键词： 统计最优 平面近场声全息 波数矢量 声场分离     

The acoustical cues to sound location in the rat: measurements of directional transfer functions

The acoustical cues for sound location are generated by spatial- and frequency-dependent filtering of propagating sound waves by the head and external ears. Although rats have been a common model system for anatomy, physiology, and psychophysics of localization, there have been few studies of the acoustical cues available to rats. Here, directional transfer functions (DTFs), the directional components of the head-related transfer functions, were measured in six adult rats. The cues to location were computed from the DTFs. In the frontal hemisphere, spectral notches were present for frequencies from approximately 16 to 30 kHz; in general, the frequency corresponding to the notch increased with increases in source elevation and in azimuth toward the ipsilateral ear. The maximum high-frequency envelope-based interaural time differences (ITDs) were 130 mus, whereas low-frequency (<3.5 kHz) fine-structure ITDs were 160 mus; both types of ITDs were larger than predicted from spherical head models. Interaural level differences (ILDs) strongly depended on location and frequency. Maximum ILDs were <10 dB for frequencies <8 kHz and were as large as 20-40 dB for frequencies >20 kHz. Removal of the pinna eliminated the spectral notches, reduced the acoustic gain and ILDs, altered the acoustical axis, and reduced the ITDs.     

Stabilization of perceived echo amplitudes in echolocating bats. I. Echo detection and automatic gain control in the big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus, and the fishing bat, Noctilio leporinus.

Previous research on echo detection in bats has suggested that the effective threshold is a function of the acoustic clutter in the experimental environment, as might be expected given the low ambient noise levels typical of such psychophysical research. This paper demonstrates that theory of signal detectability (TSD) methodology is applicable to bats and uses it to show that an important element of clutter limiting in Eptesicus fuscus and Noctilio leporinus is backward masking of phantom targets by the real echo from the loudspeakers used to generate them. This information suggests that a previous estimate of the magnitude of automatic gain control (AGC) is too high, due to variable backward masking inherent in the experimental method used. A re-examination of gain control using a masking-free method shows that it reduces auditory sensitivity by 6 to 7 dB per halving of target range, rather than 11 dB as previously thought.     

Relationship between listening difficulty and acoustical objective measures in reverberant sound fields

The previous work [Morimoto et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 116, 1607-1613] showed that listening difficulty ratings can be used to evaluate speech transmission performance more exactly and sensitively than intelligibility. Meanwhile, speech transmission performance is usually evaluated using acoustical objective measures, which are directly associated with physical parameters of room acoustic design. However, the relationship between listening difficulty ratings and acoustical objective measures was not minutely investigated. In the present study, a total of 96 impulse responses were used to investigate the relationship between listening difficulty ratings and several objective measures in unidirectional sound fields. The result of the listening test showed that (1) the correlation between listening difficulty ratings and speech transmission index (STI) is the strongest of all tested objective measures, and (2) A-weighted D(50), C(50), and center time, which are obtained from the impulse responses passed through an A-weighted filter, also strongly correlate with listening difficulty ratings, and their correlations with listening difficulty ratings are not statistically different from the correlation between listening difficulty ratings and STI.     

音乐厅音质设计中响度评价参量的讨论

强感级(G,dB)是评价音乐厅音质设计中重要客观参量之一,它由厅内声级按标准声源的声功率级归一化得出。我们不仅考察厅内的总强感级G,还得分别考虑其早期声和后期声的G_早和G_后,因为它们的成因和主观效果是不同的。近年从主观试验结果中获得一个意外发现,即最低频段的G_低值与中频G_中值之比,将是决定厅内低音感的主要因素,而不是过去所说的低频和中频混响时间之比。10年前,人们认为环绕感LEV只由到达听者耳际的侧向声能所决定,如今则了解到后期总声能G_后这一因素也很重要。并提出由G和侧向比值LF来估算LFV的新公式,便于设计考虑。本文对音乐厅最佳G值作了讨论。近年的一个重要发现是,音乐厅内听者响度判断主要由混响声决定,或认为因视听综合心理效应使听者的响度判断与离舞台距离几乎无关,或两者兼具。后者涉及视觉信息输入影响听觉响度体验,即所谓多维感知综合效果的心理学问题。近年有人认为G参量不能直接反映音乐厅内听众听到的绝对声压级为由,提出以音乐片段中乐队齐奏强音标志段声级L_pf作为评价音乐厅响度的新物理指标。作者对此作了全面评析,说明其存在问题和不可行性。     

Stabilization of perceived echo amplitudes in echolocating bats. II. The acoustic behavior of the big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus, when tracking moving prey.

Big brown bats, Eptesicus fuscus, can be trained to use echolocation to track a small microphone with a food reward attached when it is moved rapidly toward them. This situation mimics prey interception in the wild while allowing very precise recording of the sonar pulses emitted during tracking behavior. The results show that E. fuscus intensity compensates, reducing emitted intensity by 6 dB per halving of target range so that the intensity incident upon the target is constant and echo intensity increases by 6 dB per halving of range. This increase in echo intensity is effectively canceled by the reduction in auditory sensitivity due to automatic gain control (AGC) of 6 to 7 dB per halving of range. Intensity compensation behavior and AGC therefore form a dual-component, symmetrical system that stabilizes perceived echo amplitudes during target approach. The same system is present in the fishing bat, Noctilio leporinus, suggesting that it may be widespread in echolocating bats. Correlation analysis shows that, despite large changes in the duration of the pulses emitted by E. fuscus during an approach, the pulse frequency structure is such that the spatial image of the target perceived along the range axis is highly stable. Pulse duration is not reduced in the manner theoretically necessary to eliminate potential echo distortion effects due to AGC, but is reduced in such a way that this distortion is insignificant. During the terminal buzz, a high degree of temporal overlap (relative to pulse duration) occurs between emitted pulse and returning echo.     

Orthogonal acoustical factors of a sound field in a bamboo forest.

To investigate the acoustical quality of a sound field in a bamboo forest, acoustical measurements were conducted to obtain orthogonal acoustical factors of the sound field. These results are compared with previous results for a sound field in an ordinary forest [H. Sakai, S. Sato, and Y. Ando, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 104, 1491-1497 (1998)]. The IACC, which is defined as a maximum value of the normalized interaural cross-correlation function between signals at the ears, was 0.07 (4 kHz) and 0.16 (2 kHz) at positions 20 and 40 m from the source, respectively. These values are much better than those in the previously investigated forest. The measured subsequent reverberation time Tsub was up to 1.5 s in the frequency range above 1 kHz at the position 40 m from the source. For certain music sources with higher frequency components, therefore, sound fields in a bamboo forest have excellent acoustic properties.     

基于声传播算子的声源定位实验模拟方法研究

声传播算子是一种高效的时域声场计算方法,它能够很方便地计算出给定系统参数下任意时刻任意位置的声场变化情况,本文采用这种方法计算所得的二维房间声场信息进行传声器阵列的声源定位仿真实验。计算结果表明,用该方法获取的阵列数据能有效地应用于阵列信号处理算法中,准确地估计出初始高斯脉冲声源的方向。声传播算子声场计算方法能为传声器阵列声源定位的实验提供方便,使得传声器阵列声源定位算法在不同混响时间的鲁棒性实验研究变得更加简捷。     

The bat head-related transfer function reveals binaural cues for sound localization in azimuth and elevation

Directional properties of the sound transformation at the ear of four intact echolocating bats, Eptesicus fuscus, were investigated via measurements of the head-related transfer function (HRTF). Contributions of external ear structures to directional features of the transfer functions were examined by remeasuring the HRTF in the absence of the pinna and tragus. The investigation mainly focused on the interactions between the spatial and the spectral features in the bat HRTF. The pinna provides gain and shapes these features over a large frequency band (20-90 kHz), and the tragus contributes gain and directionality at the high frequencies (60 to 90 kHz). Analysis of the spatial and spectral characteristics of the bat HRTF reveals that both interaural level differences (ILD) and monaural spectral features are subject to changes in sound source azimuth and elevation. Consequently, localization cues for horizontal and vertical components of the sound source location interact. Availability of multiple cues about sound source azimuth and elevation should enhance information to support reliable sound localization. These findings stress the importance of the acoustic information received at the two ears for sound localization of sonar target position in both azimuth and elevation.     

Modelling of the sound field radiated by multibeam echosounders for acoustical impact assessment

Multi-Beam Echo-Sounders (MBES) designed for seafloor-mapping applications are today a major tool for ocean exploration and monitoring. Concerns have been raised about their impact towards marine life and especially marine mammals, although their inherent characteristics (high frequencies, short signals and narrow transmitting lobes) actually minimize this possibility. The present paper proposes an analysis of MBES radiation characteristics (pulse design, source level and radiation directivity pattern) accounting for the various geometries met today and expressed according to the metrics used for acoustical impact assessment (maximum Sound Pressure Level, and cumulative Sound Exposure Level). A detailed radiation model is proposed, including the transmission through directivity sidelobes, and applied to three typical MBES examples. A simplified radiation model is then defined, in order to extend it to the case of the cumulative insonification by a MBES moving along a survey line. An approximated analytical model is proposed for the accumulated intensity, showing good agreement with the complete simulation of insonification; it is applied to the worst-case configuration of a low-frequency (12 kHz) multi-sector system. The computation of ranges corresponding to impact thresholds accepted today shows that impacts in terms of injury are negligible for both SPL and SEL; however behavioural response impacts cannot be excluded, and should require specific experimentation.     

Localization of virtual sound sources with bilateral hearing aids in realistic acoustical scenes

Sound localization with hearing aids has traditionally been investigated in artificial laboratory settings. These settings are not representative of environments in which hearing aids are used. With individual Head-Related Transfer Functions (HRTFs) and room simulations, realistic environments can be reproduced and the performance of hearing aid algorithms can be evaluated. In this study, four different environments with background noise have been implemented in which listeners had to localize different sound sources. The HRTFs were measured inside the ear canals of the test subjects and by the microphones of Behind-The-Ear (BTEs) hearing aids. In the first experiment the system for virtual acoustics was evaluated by comparing perceptual sound localization results for the four scenes in a real room with a simulated one. In the second experiment, sound localization with three BTE algorithms, an omnidirectional microphone, a monaural cardioid-shaped beamformer and a monaural noise canceler, was examined. The results showed that the system for generating virtual environments is a reliable tool to evaluate sound localization with hearing aids. With BTE hearing aids localization performance decreased and the number of front-back confusions was at chance level. The beamformer, due to its directivity characteristics, allowed the listener to resolve the front-back ambiguity.     

The role of acoustical characteristics in the perception of warning sounds and the effects of wearing hearing protection

The relative importance of the acoustical contrasts of a warning sound with other irrelevant sounds and with the ambient noise has been investigated in the context of the perception of warning sounds and the effects of hearing protection being worn by normally hearing subjects. The results indicate that both contrast factors had an influence on the attention demand of the auditory warnings, but that the contrast with the irrelevant sounds was more potent for the specific stimuli investigated. Thus, they emphasize the importance of including a typical recognition requirement when assessing the attention demand of warning sounds. A small additional reduction in the attention demand of both sounds was evident when the subjects were wearing hearing protectors. This effect could occur in the industrial setting, but further research is required to establish its extent and implications.     

Predicting the sound emission from air-conditioning and ventilating systems

Air-conditioning noise is, of course, only one part of the background noise spectrum for a space, but it has become significant over the last decade as more high velocity systems are being installed, and as people have become more sensitive to internal noise sources in buildings well insulated from the external environment. Research has been carried out to investigate the nature and level of sound emitted in rooms served by air-conditioning systems. An initial survey measured the sound spectra in 74 university lecture rooms. Fans, motors, vee-belt drives and an airflow system were then installed to serve one lecture room. It was found that the sound pressure level in the room could be predicted by the equation:

$\text{L}\text{=40}\text{v}\text{17}\text{+1}$

or:

$\text{L}\text{=37.4}\text{N}\text{2110}\text{+1}$

where $\text{L}$ is the sound pressure level in dB(A), $\text{v}$ is the air velocity in the main duct and $\text{N}$ is the fan speed (rpm). Further field studies are being undertaken on many systems in buildings to find out if a general formula can be applied in practice.