Mouth-clicks used by blind expert human echolocators – signal description and model based signal synthesis
Echolocation is the ability to use sound-echoes to infer spatial information about the environment. Some blind people have developed extraordinary proficiency in echolocation using mouth-clicks. The first step of human biosonar is the transmission (mouth click) and subsequent reception of the result...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science
2017
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/62489/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/62489/1/CLICK.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848854632501084160 |
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| author | Thaler, Lore Reich, Galen M. Zhang, Xinyu Wang, Dinghe Smith, Graeme E. Tao, Zeng Raja Abdullah, Raja Syamsul Azmir Cherniakov, Mikhail Bake, Christopher J. Kish, Daniel Antoniou, Michail |
| author_facet | Thaler, Lore Reich, Galen M. Zhang, Xinyu Wang, Dinghe Smith, Graeme E. Tao, Zeng Raja Abdullah, Raja Syamsul Azmir Cherniakov, Mikhail Bake, Christopher J. Kish, Daniel Antoniou, Michail |
| author_sort | Thaler, Lore |
| building | UPM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Echolocation is the ability to use sound-echoes to infer spatial information about the environment. Some blind people have developed extraordinary proficiency in echolocation using mouth-clicks. The first step of human biosonar is the transmission (mouth click) and subsequent reception of the resultant sound through the ear. Existing head-related transfer function (HRTF) data bases provide descriptions of reception of the resultant sound. For the current report, we collected a large database of click emissions with three blind people expertly trained in echolocation, which allowed us to perform unprecedented analyses. Specifically, the current report provides the first ever description of the spatial distribution (i.e. beam pattern) of human expert echolocation transmissions, as well as spectro-temporal descriptions at a level of detail not available before. Our data show that transmission levels are fairly constant within a 60° cone emanating from the mouth, but levels drop gradually at further angles, more than for speech. In terms of spectro-temporal features, our data show that emissions are consistently very brief (~3ms duration) with peak frequencies 2-4kHz, but with energy also at 10kHz. This differs from previous reports of durations 3-15ms and peak frequencies 2-8kHz, which were based on less detailed measurements. Based on our measurements we propose to model transmissions as sum of monotones modulated by a decaying exponential, with angular attenuation by a modified cardioid. We provide model parameters for each echolocator. These results are a step towards developing computational models of human biosonar. For example, in bats, spatial and spectro-temporal features of emissions have been used to derive and test model based hypotheses about behaviour. The data we present here suggest similar research opportunities within the context of human echolocation. Relatedly, the data are a basis to develop synthetic models of human echolocation that could be virtual (i.e. simulated) or real (i.e. loudspeaker, microphones), and which will help understanding the link between physical principles and human behaviour. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T11:12:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm-62489 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T11:12:57Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | upm-624892021-04-30T06:24:06Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/62489/ Mouth-clicks used by blind expert human echolocators – signal description and model based signal synthesis Thaler, Lore Reich, Galen M. Zhang, Xinyu Wang, Dinghe Smith, Graeme E. Tao, Zeng Raja Abdullah, Raja Syamsul Azmir Cherniakov, Mikhail Bake, Christopher J. Kish, Daniel Antoniou, Michail Echolocation is the ability to use sound-echoes to infer spatial information about the environment. Some blind people have developed extraordinary proficiency in echolocation using mouth-clicks. The first step of human biosonar is the transmission (mouth click) and subsequent reception of the resultant sound through the ear. Existing head-related transfer function (HRTF) data bases provide descriptions of reception of the resultant sound. For the current report, we collected a large database of click emissions with three blind people expertly trained in echolocation, which allowed us to perform unprecedented analyses. Specifically, the current report provides the first ever description of the spatial distribution (i.e. beam pattern) of human expert echolocation transmissions, as well as spectro-temporal descriptions at a level of detail not available before. Our data show that transmission levels are fairly constant within a 60° cone emanating from the mouth, but levels drop gradually at further angles, more than for speech. In terms of spectro-temporal features, our data show that emissions are consistently very brief (~3ms duration) with peak frequencies 2-4kHz, but with energy also at 10kHz. This differs from previous reports of durations 3-15ms and peak frequencies 2-8kHz, which were based on less detailed measurements. Based on our measurements we propose to model transmissions as sum of monotones modulated by a decaying exponential, with angular attenuation by a modified cardioid. We provide model parameters for each echolocator. These results are a step towards developing computational models of human biosonar. For example, in bats, spatial and spectro-temporal features of emissions have been used to derive and test model based hypotheses about behaviour. The data we present here suggest similar research opportunities within the context of human echolocation. Relatedly, the data are a basis to develop synthetic models of human echolocation that could be virtual (i.e. simulated) or real (i.e. loudspeaker, microphones), and which will help understanding the link between physical principles and human behaviour. Public Library of Science 2017-08 Article PeerReviewed text en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/62489/1/CLICK.pdf Thaler, Lore and Reich, Galen M. and Zhang, Xinyu and Wang, Dinghe and Smith, Graeme E. and Tao, Zeng and Raja Abdullah, Raja Syamsul Azmir and Cherniakov, Mikhail and Bake, Christopher J. and Kish, Daniel and Antoniou, Michail (2017) Mouth-clicks used by blind expert human echolocators – signal description and model based signal synthesis. PLoS Computational Biology, 13 (8). pp. 1-17. ISSN 1553-734X; ESSN: 1553-7358 https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005670 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005670 |
| spellingShingle | Thaler, Lore Reich, Galen M. Zhang, Xinyu Wang, Dinghe Smith, Graeme E. Tao, Zeng Raja Abdullah, Raja Syamsul Azmir Cherniakov, Mikhail Bake, Christopher J. Kish, Daniel Antoniou, Michail Mouth-clicks used by blind expert human echolocators – signal description and model based signal synthesis |
| title | Mouth-clicks used by blind expert human echolocators – signal description and model based signal synthesis |
| title_full | Mouth-clicks used by blind expert human echolocators – signal description and model based signal synthesis |
| title_fullStr | Mouth-clicks used by blind expert human echolocators – signal description and model based signal synthesis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mouth-clicks used by blind expert human echolocators – signal description and model based signal synthesis |
| title_short | Mouth-clicks used by blind expert human echolocators – signal description and model based signal synthesis |
| title_sort | mouth-clicks used by blind expert human echolocators – signal description and model based signal synthesis |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/62489/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/62489/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/62489/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/62489/1/CLICK.pdf |