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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/T28140/01
Title: The synthesis of head-related transfer functions from parameterised morphological measurements
Principal Investigator: Tew, Mr AI
Other Investigators:
Howard, Professor DM Robinson, Professor JA
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Cybula Ltd University of Sydney
Department: Electronics
Organisation: University of York
Scheme: Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts: 14 February 2005 Ends: 13 July 2008 Value (£): 272,029
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Med.Instrument.Device& Equip. Vision & Senses - ICT appl.
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Healthcare Creative Industries
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
Little is known about the acoustic influences that different regions of the head and outer ears exert on the perception of a sound's distance and direction. This lack of knowledge is hampering the exploitation of spatial audio in a variety of exciting applications. Unless spatial filters are used that are tailored to a particular listener, the reproduction of spatial sounds through headphones is generally impaired. The acoustic measurement of these spatial filters is slow and expensive. An attractive alternative is to derive them from relatively simple head and ear shape measurements. Several difficulties exist with this approach, but, in partnership with our academic and industrial collaborators, we believe these may now be overcome.This project applies recent breakthroughs at York in computational acoustic modelling and the description of ear shape to explore the links between physical human features and the acoustic cues we use to localise sounds. A novel unit will be constructed with which to measure subjects' head and ear shape. These measurements will be converted into compact sets of numbers, unique to each individual. Techniques pioneered by our Sydneybased partners will then be employed to convert these data sets into the required personalised spatial filters, whose effectiveness will be evaluated by means of listening tests.
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Further Information:  
Organisation Website: http://www.york.ac.uk