• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
Monday, March 27, 2023
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Chemistry

Anyone can get super-hearing

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
June 2, 2021
in Chemistry
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

New audio technique can track bats in flight and help localise sources of ultrasonic sound

IMAGE

Credit: Ville Pulkki/Aalto University

Humans can observe what and where something happens around them with their hearing, as long as sound frequencies lie between 20 Hz and 20 000 Hz. Researchers at Aalto University have now developed a new audio technique that enables people to also hear ultrasonic sources that generate sound at frequencies above 20,000 Hz with simultaneous perception of their direction. The results have been published in Scientific Reports on 2 June 2021.

‘In our study, we used bats in their natural habitat as sources of ultrasonic sound. With our new technique, we can now hear the directions-of-arrival of bat sounds, which means we can track bats in flight and hear where they are – we’re essentially giving ourselves super hearing,’ says Professor Ville Pulkki from Aalto University.

Small devices have been used before to listen to bats but previous versions haven’t allowed listeners to locate the bats, just hear them. With their device the researchers record ultrasound using an array of microphones flush mounted and uniformly distributed on the surface of a small sphere. After the signal has been pitch-shifted to audible frequencies, the sound is played back on the headphones immediately. Currently, the pitch-shifting is performed on a computer, but, in the future, it could be done with electronics attached to the headphones.

‘A sound-field analysis is performed on the microphone signals, and as a result we obtain the most prominent direction of the ultrasonic sound field and a parameter that suggests that the sound comes only from a single source. After this, a single microphone signal is brought to the audible frequency range of human hearing and its single-source signal is played back on the headphones so that the listener can perceive the source from the direction the sound was analysed to arrive,’ Pulkki says.

On top of its popular appeal, the technique has tangible real-world applications.

‘In science and art, people have always been interested in how they could improve their senses. Finding sources of ultrasonic sound is also useful in many practical situations, such as finding leaks in pressurised gas pipes. Minor pipe leaks often produce strong ultrasound emissions not detected by normal hearing. The device allows us to spot the sound source quickly,’ Pulkki explains.

‘Sometimes, damaged electrical equipment also emit ultrasound, and the device could be used for locating faulty equipment faster in places such as data centres,’ he continues.

###

The Open Access article is available via the link http://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-90829-9

Listen to the sounds of bats and see the video to get acquainted with the study. The effect can be heard with headphones only. https://youtu.be/HMkZs7a1nQc

Media Contact
Professor Ville Pulkki
[email protected]

Original Source

https://www.aalto.fi/en/news/anyone-can-get-super-hearing

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-90829-9

Tags: AcousticsChemistry/Physics/Materials SciencesElectrical Engineering/ElectronicsResearch/DevelopmentTechnology/Engineering/Computer ScienceZoology/Veterinary Science
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

O-ClickFC for high-throughput analysis of single-cell lipid metabolism at the organelle level

Novel Click chemistry technology for ultrafast analysis of intracellular lipids

March 27, 2023
Generating and controlling electron spin states with spatially structured polarized light.

Storing information with spins: Creating new structured spin states with spatially structured polarized light

March 27, 2023

In the tropics, woody vines make lightning more deadly for forests

March 27, 2023

Chicago pollution varies by neighborhood

March 27, 2023
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • ChatPandaGPT

    Insilico Medicine brings AI-powered “ChatPandaGPT” to its target discovery platform

    66 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 17
  • Northern and southern resident orcas hunt differently, which may help explain the decline of southern orcas

    44 shares
    Share 18 Tweet 11
  • Skipping breakfast may compromise the immune system

    43 shares
    Share 17 Tweet 11
  • Insular dwarfs and giants more likely to go extinct

    35 shares
    Share 14 Tweet 9

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Novel Click chemistry technology for ultrafast analysis of intracellular lipids

Storing information with spins: Creating new structured spin states with spatially structured polarized light

In the tropics, woody vines make lightning more deadly for forests

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 48 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In