Enabling robots to classify sounds

Classifying visual and auditory signals in real time in mobile platforms has great potential for civilian and military applications. Neurala was contracted by Biomimetic Systems (BMS) to perform acoustic scene classification for military applications. This work is part of a larger project called Red Owl, a collaboration between Boston University, iRobot, Insight Technology, and BMS. The system, assembled for use on iRobot’s unmanned PackBot robots, models of which are now deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, is designed to enhance the situational awareness of soldiers in the battlefield. The system is undergoing extensive testing by multiple groups within the armed forces.

Benefits: enabling mobile robotic platform to reliably identify sounds in their environment to inform better decision making.

Demos: These videos, curtesy of Biomimetic Systems, show the iRobot platform platform targeted for deployment of the system.