Acoustic listening device developed for computers
AUG 11, 2015
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.029109
Nature : A 3D-printed, pizza-shaped device has been developed to allow computers to distinguish between sounds coming from different sources simultaneously. Modeled on the human inner ear, the single-sensor listening system comprises multiple passageways that all lead to a central processor. Its 36 passages are lined with acoustic metamaterials, which distort incoming sounds in different ways. An algorithm is then used to determine which direction the sounds came from. Although the device requires no sophisticated electronics, at 40 cm in diameter it is still too bulky to be of practical use.
© 2015. American Institute of Physics