Sonification for complex, mission-critical work environments. Human operators must often pay attention to an immediate task while monitoring background information, but intrusive alarms often capture operators' attention inappropriately. We investigate how continuous auditory information ("sonification") can provide low-level background information when all is normal, yet capture attention to abnormalities only when needed. The results of three experiments will determine the most effective combi ....Sonification for complex, mission-critical work environments. Human operators must often pay attention to an immediate task while monitoring background information, but intrusive alarms often capture operators' attention inappropriately. We investigate how continuous auditory information ("sonification") can provide low-level background information when all is normal, yet capture attention to abnormalities only when needed. The results of three experiments will determine the most effective combination of visual and auditory information delivery; how well sonification captures attention when needed; and whether sonification captures attention to deviations from expected changes. Our findings will help establish principles of attentional mapping that significantly extend current approaches to interactive systems design.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882345
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$650,000.00
Summary
A 3.0 Tesla MRI system for human cognitive neuroscience research. For the first time scientists are beginning to reveal the complex relationship between human brain function and behaviour. These advances have stemmed almost exclusively from the development of sophisticated brain scanning techniques that provide high-resolution images of physiological changes associated with perceptual, cognitive and motor behaviours. This application seeks support for a state-of-the-art scanner to obtain high-re ....A 3.0 Tesla MRI system for human cognitive neuroscience research. For the first time scientists are beginning to reveal the complex relationship between human brain function and behaviour. These advances have stemmed almost exclusively from the development of sophisticated brain scanning techniques that provide high-resolution images of physiological changes associated with perceptual, cognitive and motor behaviours. This application seeks support for a state-of-the-art scanner to obtain high-resolution images of the brain as healthy adults perceive, think, learn, remember and decide. The facility will enable Australian scientists to understand the complex links between brain and behaviour in health and disease.Read moreRead less
A Human Factors Approach to the Design of Visual Information in the Highway Environment. Visual information in the highway environment affects drivers' perception, behaviour, and accident propensity. Using a range of methods and approaches, issues of key importance in road design will be addressed, e.g. (1) how increasing visual clutter in the road environment affects accident-producing behaviour, (2) how certain road situations create particular problems for the increasing number of older drive ....A Human Factors Approach to the Design of Visual Information in the Highway Environment. Visual information in the highway environment affects drivers' perception, behaviour, and accident propensity. Using a range of methods and approaches, issues of key importance in road design will be addressed, e.g. (1) how increasing visual clutter in the road environment affects accident-producing behaviour, (2) how certain road situations create particular problems for the increasing number of older drivers, and (3) how the road environment can be redesigned to reduce fundamental perceptual errors made by drivers. The proposal will generate new guidelines for how future road design can be optimised to minimise crash rates.Read moreRead less
Design and Analysis of Optimal Algorithms for Automated Perimetry. Australian demographic studies reveal that visual impairment contributes significantly to disability in the elderly. Glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness in developed nations, may be slowed if detected early, however recent studies estimate 50% of Australians with glaucoma are undiagnosed. Automated perimetry is used to detect and track such vision loss, but perimetry algorithms perform poorly. This project will design ....Design and Analysis of Optimal Algorithms for Automated Perimetry. Australian demographic studies reveal that visual impairment contributes significantly to disability in the elderly. Glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness in developed nations, may be slowed if detected early, however recent studies estimate 50% of Australians with glaucoma are undiagnosed. Automated perimetry is used to detect and track such vision loss, but perimetry algorithms perform poorly. This project will design and analyse new algorithms with superior accuracy and efficiency, improving detection and monitoring of vision loss. Enhanced tools for community vision screening will also result, crucial for the ARC's priority goals of ?ageing well, ageing productively? and ?preventative healthcare?Read moreRead less
Resolving multi-sensory conflict as we age: audio-visual integration and the role of normal and abnormal sensory decline. Australia has an ageing population. Even the healthiest older individuals undergo some deterioration of vision and hearing, however, these senses are almost invariably studied in isolation. The real world is multisensory. This project will enhance our knowledge of how ageing impacts on the interpretation of visual and auditory information regarding the timing and location of ....Resolving multi-sensory conflict as we age: audio-visual integration and the role of normal and abnormal sensory decline. Australia has an ageing population. Even the healthiest older individuals undergo some deterioration of vision and hearing, however, these senses are almost invariably studied in isolation. The real world is multisensory. This project will enhance our knowledge of how ageing impacts on the interpretation of visual and auditory information regarding the timing and location of objects; essential precursors to many real world tasks, for example: driving, interpreting speech, and hazard avoidance. This knowledge is essential for the optimisation of audio-visual environments for the elderly, and for the development of tools to improve performance in the presence of sensory decline due to age-related eye disease.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354596
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$20,000.00
Summary
Perception and Action in Auditory Scenes (PAAS): Neural, Behavioural, Computational and Mechanical Systems. Auditory scenes are temporal and ephemeral yet pervasively influence human life. How humans negotiate such scenes has not been solved, a fact highlighted by attempts to build machines to respond to speech, warnings etc., in real-world situations with room reverberation, different talkers, and background noise. No one discipline can solve such problems. In this network outstanding researche ....Perception and Action in Auditory Scenes (PAAS): Neural, Behavioural, Computational and Mechanical Systems. Auditory scenes are temporal and ephemeral yet pervasively influence human life. How humans negotiate such scenes has not been solved, a fact highlighted by attempts to build machines to respond to speech, warnings etc., in real-world situations with room reverberation, different talkers, and background noise. No one discipline can solve such problems. In this network outstanding researchers from physical, medical, human, and social sciences with interests in speech, music and audition will provide insights into how humans and machines localize, recognize, interpret and produce auditory events, and advance frontier technologies, e.g., automatic speech recognition, hearing prostheses, auditory monitoring/warning systems.Read moreRead less
Stochastic, Neurally-Plausible Models for Selective Attention and Decision Making. An understanding of the basic cognitive processes involved in attention and decision making is the goal of international research effort in a number of disciplines. The benefits expected from such understanding include improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of cognitive deficits and improved occupational safety and efficiency in settings involving interaction with complex systems, such air traffi ....Stochastic, Neurally-Plausible Models for Selective Attention and Decision Making. An understanding of the basic cognitive processes involved in attention and decision making is the goal of international research effort in a number of disciplines. The benefits expected from such understanding include improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of cognitive deficits and improved occupational safety and efficiency in settings involving interaction with complex systems, such air traffic control, airline cockpits, motor vehicles, and process management. By developing mathematical models of these processes and the neural mechanisms that underlie them, this project will contribute to this understanding. It will also provide international postdoctoral opportunties for Australian-trained Ph.D. graduates.Read moreRead less
Reducing fire deaths - a new approach to smoke alarms. Disturbingly, those most at risk of dying in residential fires are also least likely to awaken to the current smoke alarm signal, now mandatory in Australian residences. This project will develop a new alarm (using Gibsonian, naturalistic sounds and/or a voice signal) and compare its waking efficacy with the current smoke alarm. Testing will involve three vulnerable groups; sleep deprived young adults, children and alcohol intoxicated. The r ....Reducing fire deaths - a new approach to smoke alarms. Disturbingly, those most at risk of dying in residential fires are also least likely to awaken to the current smoke alarm signal, now mandatory in Australian residences. This project will develop a new alarm (using Gibsonian, naturalistic sounds and/or a voice signal) and compare its waking efficacy with the current smoke alarm. Testing will involve three vulnerable groups; sleep deprived young adults, children and alcohol intoxicated. The research is innovative with important implications for community public safety, the national and international smoke alarm industry, performance based models of building safety and our theoretical understanding of cognitive processing during sleep.Read moreRead less
Organization and Plasticity of Visual Processing in a Miniature Brain. To recognise objects a brain must have an internal representation of most likely object appearance. Two ways in which brains may posses this information include a hard wired template system, and/or the neuroplasticity to learn novel objects. Recent investigations on honeybee vision show that this animal can learn to recognise very difficult objects, although currently we do not know how the miniaturised bee brain manages thes ....Organization and Plasticity of Visual Processing in a Miniature Brain. To recognise objects a brain must have an internal representation of most likely object appearance. Two ways in which brains may posses this information include a hard wired template system, and/or the neuroplasticity to learn novel objects. Recent investigations on honeybee vision show that this animal can learn to recognise very difficult objects, although currently we do not know how the miniaturised bee brain manages these tasks. This project will reveal changes that occur in the processing of visual objects by the bee's brain with increasing experience, with potential applications including robotics or building interfaces between sensors and biological systems.Read moreRead less
Phenotypic differences in behaviour, brain function and structure of genetically dissimilar forms of intellectual disability. How is the brain of someone with intellectual disability different from that of a normal person? Are behavioural phenotypes such as intellectual disability more related to similarities in brain structure and function than to the genotypic anomaly? This project will use neuroscience techniques of psychophysics, electrophysiology and fMRI to probe these questions. The ben ....Phenotypic differences in behaviour, brain function and structure of genetically dissimilar forms of intellectual disability. How is the brain of someone with intellectual disability different from that of a normal person? Are behavioural phenotypes such as intellectual disability more related to similarities in brain structure and function than to the genotypic anomaly? This project will use neuroscience techniques of psychophysics, electrophysiology and fMRI to probe these questions. The benefit of this project is that cortical flattening fMRI techniques together with new and efficient stimulus paradigms will result in a functional landmark mapping tool capable of application to many other brain genotype-phenotype questions. Also, the functional brain basis of intellectual disability will be further revealed.Read moreRead less