title: External ear transfer function modeling: a beamforming approach.
abstract: In this article, a beamformer is proposed as a functional model for the spatial and temporal filtering characteristics of the external ear. The output of a beamformer is a weighted combination of the data received at an array of spatially distributed sensors. The beamformer weights and array geometry determine its spatial and temporal filtering characteristics. A procedure is described for choosing the weights to minimize the mean-squared error between the beamformer response and the measured response of the external ear. The effectiveness of the model is demonstrated by designing a beamformer of several hundred weights that duplicates and interpolates the measured external ear response of a cat over broad ranges of frequency and direction. A limited investigation of modeling performance as a function of array geometry is reported.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison 53706.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Van Veen
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Hecox
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology*; D004424:Ear Canal / Q000502:physiology; D004431:Ear, External / Q000502:physiology*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010897:Pitch Discrimination / Q000502:physiology*; D011571:Psychoacoustics; D013017:Sound Localization / Q000502:physiology*