Acoustic information transmission system for tele-work environment considering "copresence"

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17KT0137
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 特設分野
• Research Field: Orality and Society
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: Otani Makoto 京都大学, 工学研究科, 准教授 (40433198)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-07-18 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: テレワーク / 共在性 / 聴覚空間情報

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In current telework environment, it is difficult for users to obtain a sense of sharing space with others, i.e. a sense of co-presence. In order to achieve the sense of co-presence in telework environment, it is necessary to realize an integrated system of recording, transmission, and reproduction of audio information by which enables a perception of speaker's location. In this study, we attempted to develop an audio information communication system for co-presence enriched telework environment by using speaker's location tracking and binaural reproduction. We have developed its prototype and conducted an experiment with the developed prototype. The experimental results quantitatively implies that a perception of spatial information involved in the sounds generated by others, i.e. speaker's location, plays an important role in developing a sense of co-presence with others.

Free Research Field

建築音響学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

他者の存在を認識する上で聴覚情報は重要な役割を果たしているが、本研究の成果は、他者が発する音の空間情報の知覚が他者との共在性の獲得において重要な役割を果たしていることを定量的に示唆するものであり、国内外で初めて得られた知見である。人々のコミュニケーションにおける技術基盤としてテレワーク環境を含めたテレコミュニケーション技術の必要性・重要性の認識が劇的に高る一方で、やり取りされる聴覚情報の質の低さが他者との共在性の獲得の困難さに繋がっている。本研究の成果は、より高度な人々の知的共同作業を可能とする次世代のテレコミュニケーション技術の実現に繋がる重要な知見を与えるものである。