Accelerometer based measurement for the mapping of neck surface vibrations during vocalized speech

Abstract

Abstract-This paper presents a detailed study of the vibrations on the surface of the neck during a vocalization of predefined fundamental frequency and intensity. This study was carried out as part of a wider investigation into the use of laryngeal vibrations as a channel of communication. Another potential application of this study is in identifying a suitable location for a hands-free electro-larynx for laryngectomees.An analog accelerometer, with dimensions 5x5x1.6mm and of mass 80mg, was used to perform the measurements. It was connected to a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter via single strands of insulated wire with a diameter of 100μm. The resulting low inertia of the measuring device minimized the effect of the measuring device on the phenomenon under investigation. The analog-to-digital converter simultaneously sampled the accelerometer output and a pre-amplified audio signal from a microphone.This preliminary study was carried out on two able-bodied male subjects. Measurements were taken from forty-five preselected locations on the neck. Each subject made the vowel sound /i/ (long 'e') at three different fundamental frequencies,

Giant Tunneling Piezoresistance of Composite Elastomers with Interlocked Microdome Arrays for Ultrasensitive and Multimodal Electronic Skins

“…37 Voice monitoring is typically performed using accelerometer-based devices. 37,38 To test the ability of our electronic skins to pick up voice vibrations, we attached a coin-type vibration motor to the interlocked films and placed a vibrometer in contact with the film to measure the vibration intensity (Figure 5a). The relative resistance of our sensor shows a linear increase with vibration intensity and a sensitivity of ∼0.37/(m/s 2 ), which is significantly higher than the sensitivity of 0.06/(m/s 2 ) associated with planar composite films (Figure 5a).…”

Influence of bodily resonances on emotional prosody perception

“…The frequency of these bodily resonances corresponds mainly to the fundamental frequency of the tone produced ( Sundberg, 1992 ). These bodily resonances were measured by accelerometers ( Nolan et al, 2009 ), namely sensors that measure the mechanical vibrations of solid bodies or by laser Doppler vibrometers ( Kitamura and Ohtani, 2015 ). These measures can be only quantified at the surface of the skin, and are virtually insensitive to sound ( Švec et al, 2005 ), which makes them particularly useful for studying bodily resonances.…”

“…These measures can be only quantified at the surface of the skin, and are virtually insensitive to sound ( Švec et al, 2005 ), which makes them particularly useful for studying bodily resonances. Numerous studies have explored the locations of these vibrations, and it seems that regions like the nasal bone, the zygomatics, the temples, above the upper lip and in the upper neck are the most relevant ones to consider ( Sundberg, 1992 ; Munger and Thomson, 2008 ; Nolan et al, 2009 ). In the domain of singing, singers speak of ‘chest register’ and ‘head register’ to distinguish the pitches of voices ( Sundberg, 1977 , 1992 ).…”

Neural correlates of embodied and vibratory mechanisms associated with vocal emotion production

“…Secondly, the vibratory signal was recorded from the throat using only one accelerometer. However, other locations, such as the head (Munger & Thomson, 2008; Nolan et al, 2009) and the chest (Sundberg, 1992) are also relevant for measuring this type of vibrations. Further investigation of other emotions and recording at multiple locations would provide a more representative view of the mechanisms underlying vocal emotion production.…”