Model hearing

Robots may one day be equipped with the advanced listening skills of human beings if a team of UK researchers succeeds in its attempt to develop a complex computer model of the part of the brain that processes sound.

Dr Adrian Rees, who is leading the project at

department of Neurology, Neurobiology and Psychiatry, told The Engineer that his group is working on the development of a computer model of the auditory midbrain - or inferior colliculus.

This is the part of the brain responsible for identifying and processing different sounds. It is a highly complex structure described as a convergence centre, where information on different aspects of sound picked up by the ear converges and is processed.

Rees said the group plans to develop a biologically realistic computerised model of this auditory pathway, then adapt the system to control an experimental robot that will be able to respond to different sound stimuli in a noisy environment.