Award Abstract #0079468
Acquisition of Acoustical Instrumentation and Computer Systems for Research in Hearing and Speech Sciences

NSF Org:	BCS Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences
Initial Amendment Date:	August 1, 2000
Latest Amendment Date:	August 1, 2002
Award Number:	0079468
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	John E. Yellen BCS Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences SBE Directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences
Start Date:	August 1, 2000
Expires:	December 31, 2002 (Estimated)
Awarded Amount to Date:	$157319
Investigator(s):	Gary Kidd Kidd@indiana.edu (Principal Investigator) Larry Humes (Co-Principal Investigator) Charles Watson (Co-Principal Investigator) Diane Kewley-Port (Co-Principal Investigator)
Sponsor:	Indiana University P O Box 1847 Bloomington, IN 47402 812/855-0516
NSF Program(s):	MAJOR RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION
Field Application(s):	0000099 Other Applications NEC
Program Reference Code(s):	OTHR, 0000
Program Element Code(s):	1189

ABSTRACT

Kidd

0079468

This 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.

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