Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 10 February 1967:
Vol. 155. no. 3763, pp. 656 - 664
DOI: 10.1126/science.155.3763.656
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Articles

Human Echo Perception

Charles E. Rice 1

1 Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, California

It has been shown that human test subjects have the ability, under controlled laboratory conditions, to use echoes to detect the presence or absence of targets placed before them. In addition, blind and sighted persons have been able to detect a target monaurally, to make simple shape discriminations, and to locate a target in space. Signal, environmental, and individual variability affect performance in a measurable fashion. This research is an initial step in measuring the limits of a human being's ability to use echoes as a source of information about his physical surroundings. At this point it seems unlikely that the unaided human ear can rival the bat's auditory system for echo perception. It may be, however, that modern technology can partially bridge the evolutionary gap and bring more useful echoes to man's ear than those it now receives. Such an accomplishment would allow us to examine the extent to which man might benefit from this means of sensing his environment.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Effect of Dual Sensory Loss on Auditory Localization: Implications for Intervention.
H. J. Simon and H. Levitt (2007)
Trends in Amplification 11, 259-272
   Abstract »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)