Humans have a natural ability to localise sound in three-dimensional space; when we hear a sound we are aware of the direction from which it came. We use this ability to alert us to danger or to direct our attention to something of interest.
There are many environments in which someone is required to listen to a number of simultaneous audio signals using mono headphones. All of the signals appear to emanate from just one point - inside the listeners head. In this case information may be missed or misinterpreted due to poor intelligibility.
By using 3-D Audio presented over a stereo headset this separates each audio signal to a spatially distinct location. The signals appear to emanate from locations outside the head, allowing meaningful positioning of warnings and increased intelligibility of multiple voices.
QinetiQ has designed, developed and deployed a number of 3D audio systems. These have been used in laboratory trials, simulator trials and flown in field trials on Lynx helicopters. 3-D Audio can assist with:
- Navigation
- Threat Awareness
- Collision Avoidance
- Helicopter Hovering
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