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High-Fidelity Modeling Tools for Bone Conduction Communication Systems

Award Information
Agency: Department of Defense
Branch: Army
Contract: W81XWH-06-C-0385
Agency Tracking Number: A064-033-0346
Amount: $99,989.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: STTR
Solicitation Topic Code: A06-T033
Solicitation Number: N/A
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2006
Award Year: 2006
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2006-08-01
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2007-07-31
Small Business Information
215 Wynn Dr., 5th Floor
Huntsville, AL 35805
United States
DUNS: 185169620
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: Yes
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Andrzej Przekewas
 (256) 726-4800
 jls@cfdrc.com
Business Contact
 Ashok Singhal
Title: President
Phone: (256) 726-4800
Email: jls@cfdrc.com
Research Institution
 GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
 Shelly Ziegler
 
505 Tenth St NW
Atlanta, GA 30332
United States

 (404) 385-6697
 Nonprofit College or University
Abstract

Warfighters increasingly rely on radio communication equipment to ensure safety, mission effectiveness, and situational awareness. Current military communication gear involves headphones and acoustic microphones. Unfortunately, headphones cover the ears and deteriorate detection and localization of ambient sounds that may be important for tactical situations. They also prevent ear plug usage and necessitate noise canceling headsets in high-noise environments. An alternative to air conduction is bone conduction (BC), where sound is transmitted/received through vibration transducers attached to the human head. Existing BC technology is not mature enough to provide high fidelity devices required for military operations, while their development is limited by the lack of adequate modeling and design tools. In this project we will develop, validate, and deliver anatomy and physics based modeling tools for analysis and design of cranial BC communication systems. The tools will be used to optimize the design, attachment, and anatomical location of BC speakers and microphones for best communication clarity in various military environments. CFDRC’s high-fidelity Fluid-Structures-Interaction software will be used to model the filtering effects of the skull, brain, fluids, and other tissues as vibrations transit from points on the head surface to the cochlea. Resulting transfer functions will be used to predict speech intelligibility and evaluated empirically at Georgia Tech’s Sonification Lab through validation studies involving human listeners.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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