Establishing how head and face movement properties contribute to the perception of speech and identity. The proposed studies provide an extensive research program into audio-visual speech processing and person identification: key components of face-to-face communication. The likely impact and benefits of the project concern its contribution to perceptual theory (linking signal, brain and behaviour) and its practical implications: For determining the viability of multimodal biometric identificati ....Establishing how head and face movement properties contribute to the perception of speech and identity. The proposed studies provide an extensive research program into audio-visual speech processing and person identification: key components of face-to-face communication. The likely impact and benefits of the project concern its contribution to perceptual theory (linking signal, brain and behaviour) and its practical implications: For determining the viability of multimodal biometric identification procedures by assessing the distinctiveness and permanence of AV speech characteristics. In the development of a visual dubbing technique that has potential for communication in noisy environments (and for the deaf) and for the development of a morphable model for AV presentation that has application for both first and second language learning.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
Learning from our mistakes: How and when complex decisions fail. The project aims to develop a novel mathematical framework, augmented by simulations and a set of experiments, to study when and how people commit errors. The modern environment bombards us with signals, such as radio and television advertisements as we sit at home or warning lights and car honks as we cross the road. Despite years of psychological research, it is not entirely clear how efficiently people cope with increasing amoun ....Learning from our mistakes: How and when complex decisions fail. The project aims to develop a novel mathematical framework, augmented by simulations and a set of experiments, to study when and how people commit errors. The modern environment bombards us with signals, such as radio and television advertisements as we sit at home or warning lights and car honks as we cross the road. Despite years of psychological research, it is not entirely clear how efficiently people cope with increasing amounts of information nor is it clear whether they process multiple signals simultaneously (in parallel) or one after the other (serial). The project offers new measures, based on the rate and pattern of error responses, to supplement the commonly used response times. The combination of a theoretical framework, based on mathematical and computational work, with empirical data to test the models, may deliver a better understanding of human performance and its limitations.Read moreRead less
The Role of Colour and Luminance in Spatial Location. How does the brain form our impression of the world? Black and white images appear normal to us. However, colour images without luminance variation have little depth, suggesting that the brain does not process colour in the same way as luminance. A series of fresh experiments examine how colour and luminance are utilised for seeing the depth and position of objects. The results will help us to understand how the first stages of visual process ....The Role of Colour and Luminance in Spatial Location. How does the brain form our impression of the world? Black and white images appear normal to us. However, colour images without luminance variation have little depth, suggesting that the brain does not process colour in the same way as luminance. A series of fresh experiments examine how colour and luminance are utilised for seeing the depth and position of objects. The results will help us to understand how the first stages of visual processing in the brain shape our sense of the world, and help develop theories of human vision, as well as animal and machine models of vision.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100125
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$385,536.00
Summary
Human visual perception: Connecting genes, brain and behaviour. This project aims to reveal the relationship between genes, brain and behaviour in visual perception, where underlying brain activity can be decoded from electrical signals. Modern molecular genetics promises unprecedented insights into human psychology. But progress has been slower than expected because the brain mechanisms linking genes to behaviours are incredibly complex. Project results are expected to show how common variation ....Human visual perception: Connecting genes, brain and behaviour. This project aims to reveal the relationship between genes, brain and behaviour in visual perception, where underlying brain activity can be decoded from electrical signals. Modern molecular genetics promises unprecedented insights into human psychology. But progress has been slower than expected because the brain mechanisms linking genes to behaviours are incredibly complex. Project results are expected to show how common variations in genes affect our brain's response to visual stimulation, and how this in turn alters our perceptual experience and behavioural reactions. These discoveries aim to cast new light on the architecture and development of the mind, and provide a new model for investigating the genetic basis of other psychological traits.Read moreRead less
The effect of cochlear implants on cognitive decline in ageing Australians. This project aims to investigate the impact of cochlear implants on cognitive function in elderly people with deafness. Deafness has been found to be independently associated with a 30–40 per cent accelerated rate of cognitive decline in elderly adults. There is currently no effective treatment for cognitive decline. The intended outcomes of this observational study will help us to understand the biological process of co ....The effect of cochlear implants on cognitive decline in ageing Australians. This project aims to investigate the impact of cochlear implants on cognitive function in elderly people with deafness. Deafness has been found to be independently associated with a 30–40 per cent accelerated rate of cognitive decline in elderly adults. There is currently no effective treatment for cognitive decline. The intended outcomes of this observational study will help us to understand the biological process of cognitive decline, whether hearing loss is causal, and whether the process can be altered. These findings should be applicable to all individuals with hearing loss. If cochlear implants delay cognitive decline, this would significantly affect policy, quality of life for the elderly, and the cost to society.Read moreRead less
Creating perceptual experts in Australia's policing and security agencies. This project aims to create the next generation of experts in Australia’s policing and national security agencies, by improving crime scene evidence interpretation. Agencies are under pressure to develop more rigorous training practices that go beyond mere intuition and tradition. This project will use a novel approach that directs learning toward the most diagnostic perceptual cues. Expected outcomes include a solid empi ....Creating perceptual experts in Australia's policing and security agencies. This project aims to create the next generation of experts in Australia’s policing and national security agencies, by improving crime scene evidence interpretation. Agencies are under pressure to develop more rigorous training practices that go beyond mere intuition and tradition. This project will use a novel approach that directs learning toward the most diagnostic perceptual cues. Expected outcomes include a solid empirical basis for national training programs designed to create experts that are accurate, reliable, and continuously improving. Improving the training of experts will ensure the integrity of forensics as evidentiary tools available to police, lead to more reliable courtroom convictions and help safeguard Australia from terrorism and crime.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
Using written language to probe speech recognition models. Speech recognition models fall into two principal classes, with fundamentally different processing architectures. Feedback models (e.g. TRACE, McClelland & Elman, 1986) allow lexical knowledge to exert top-down control over phonemic analysis. Feedforward models (e.g. Merge, Norris, McQueen & Cutler, 2000) assume that information flow is entirely bottom-up. Our project adopts an innovative approach to testing between these model classe ....Using written language to probe speech recognition models. Speech recognition models fall into two principal classes, with fundamentally different processing architectures. Feedback models (e.g. TRACE, McClelland & Elman, 1986) allow lexical knowledge to exert top-down control over phonemic analysis. Feedforward models (e.g. Merge, Norris, McQueen & Cutler, 2000) assume that information flow is entirely bottom-up. Our project adopts an innovative approach to testing between these model classes, by examining the influence of written-word knowledge on speech perception. To distinguish the models, contrasts must test different processing levels and examine strategy effects. TRACE favors broad effects with limited strategic influence; Merge favors lexical effects that are necessarily sensitive to strategic factorsRead moreRead less
Reconciling perceptual and cognitive accounts of dyslexia: The neural rate deficit hypothesis. The proposed research will form part of a co-ordinated program to understand the causes of dyslexia, a disorder that affects a large number of children and often persists into adulthood. It complements parallel efforts to elucidate the genetic basis of dyslexia, the heterogeneity and subtypes of dyslexia, and the developmental precursors to the disorder. This research will inform early intervention and ....Reconciling perceptual and cognitive accounts of dyslexia: The neural rate deficit hypothesis. The proposed research will form part of a co-ordinated program to understand the causes of dyslexia, a disorder that affects a large number of children and often persists into adulthood. It complements parallel efforts to elucidate the genetic basis of dyslexia, the heterogeneity and subtypes of dyslexia, and the developmental precursors to the disorder. This research will inform early intervention and remediation efforts and will also assist in the understanding of the normal process of reading acquisition in children.Read moreRead less