The effect of head movement on sound localization in an acoustical telepresence robot: TeleHead

Abstract

Using our developed acoustical telepresence robot, TeleHead, we have so far confirmed that not only stationary binaural features but also dynamic cues due to head movement play important roles in auditory localization. In this study, aiming towards the realization of an ideal acoustical telepresence robot, we clarified the relation between the speed of head movement and the accuracy of auditory localization in listening experiments. We examined the effect of two head-movement factors on sound localization accuracy: observation from multiple postures and the obtainment of dynamical information during head movement. The results suggest that both factors improve the accuracy of sound localization in experiments. Moreover, even when we can use only one of these factors, the accuracy of sound localization is almost the same as the subject's original accuracy. The results confirm that even under very bad communication, control, and head shape conditions, it may be possible to get a system to actually work. They also mean that there is a possibility of building an acoustical telepresence robot with a dummy head of a general shape. This is meaningful from the viewpoint of engineering. In addition, it suggests the strong robustness of the human auditory sound localization function