Making Sense of the world through Sonic Sense

Picture this: You’re having iced coffee with your friends at your home and you’re wondering how much coffee is remaining in the mug. Instead of looking, you shake the mug a little to listen to the sound that the ice inside makes, giving you a fair indication of whether you’ll need to replenish the iced coffee. When you set the drink down on the table, you hear the sound of the mug’s bottom hitting the table producing a hollow echo and you deduce that the surface of the table might be made of plastic.

The knack of construing the world by the means of auditory vibrations coming from an object is something we do automatically, without giving it much thought. This interpretative ability is one of the most important features that researchers are working on bringing to robots to sense their surroundings.

What is SonicSense?

One such research from Duke University has introduced a system named SonicSense that provides robots with the ability to sense objects through acoustic vibrations. “Robots today mostly rely on vision to interpret the world. We wanted to create a solution that could work with complex and diverse objects found daily, giving robots a much richer ability to ‘feel’ and understand the world.” said Jiaxun Liu (a Ph.D. student at Duke University), the chief author of the research paper. 

Combined with the current developments in AI, SonicSense extracts frequency features and uses its previous knowledge, to interpret the material an object is made out of and provides conducive information such as its detailed 3D image. If it’s an object that SonicSense has never encountered, it could take 20 diverse interactions for the system to conclude its data. However, if it’s an object already in its database, it can recognize it within four interactions.

One of the surprising things about this system is that it is assembled using commercially accessible components, such as the equivalent of contact microphones used for guitar recording by musicians. The entire technology costs $200 approximately and this makes it both accessible and cost-effective for implementation and further advancements.

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When was the research published? 

SonicSense system was published at the Conference on Robot Learning (CoRL), an annual global conference centred on robotics and machine learning. CoRL 2024 was held in Munich, Germany, from November 6 to 9, this year.

What are the benefits of SonicSense?

The SonicSense system enables robots to: 

• Sense and comprehend the world around them similar to humans.
• Recognize objects with greater precision, with more than just the vision. 
• Perceive and interact with an extensive range of objects, which are both simple and complex.

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Features and Applications of SonicSense

Auditory Imaging

• SonicSense system utilizes ultrasonic waves to produce comprehensive images of objects and the surrounding environment. It can generate high-resolution 3D models that can showcase structural details not usually perceived or seen by humans.

• This sensing system can be used to scan objects or people in a non-invasive manner thus making it more viable than medical methods like X-rays or MRIs. This system can be both safe and comfortable for patients.

Acoustic Sensors

• One of the distinctive features of SonicSense is its usage of array-based sensors that can sense and process ultrasonic waves in real-time. These sensors recognize the echoes of the sound waves coming from an object/environment and evaluate the time interval taken by the waves to return from the object. Then it recreates this data into a 3D map of the object/environment being scanned.

• The capacity to create such High-resolution 3D maps from acoustic data can be utilized in multiple fields, such as material science, AI, robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT) and medicine.

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Medical Applications

• SonicSense demonstrates high potential in medical imaging and has low potential for detrimental side effects, unlike other medical scanning systems that depend on radio waves and strong magnetic fields.

• The system could expand the current imaging methods and can assist in producing precise scans of blood, and organs and might even be able to spot tumour growth at earlier stages. It can support medical practitioners in probing the exact location or the complex shape of the internal structures in our bodies and detect irregularities as well. For example, monitoring soft tissues or fetal imaging.

• There is a possibility to incorporate this into wearable devices to constantly monitor our health.

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Robotics and Navigation

• The SonicSense system can be utilized in robotic navigation and autonomous systems. Roombas, drones, and vehicles can use this technology to record their environment and detect obstacles in their path.

• In poor lighting conditions or through compact materials, systems like cameras or other visual sensors can struggle but adding sonic sense to robots can allow them to easily surpass this difficulty. This can make them a more effective navigation system.

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Engineering and Construction

• SonicSense can be a valuable asset in cutting-edge industries like building, engineering, manufacturing, and aerospace. It can assist in discovering subtle differences in the materials, complex machinery and other industrial components and in checking the dependability of the machinery.

For example, hidden fissures or any other faults in metals, composites or components can be identified by making comprehensive 3D images of the internal structures without disassembling any components.

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Environment Sensing

• Sonic Sensing can be implemented for robots or machines to identify specific speech or sound patterns. This can be an amazing addition to devices that work based on voice-activation such as lighting or security systems. 
• In some environments, specific sound patterns or movements like footsteps or machinery can be immediately recognized and this can help us make informed decisions or take necessary actions. It can also be used for thermal sensing.

In summary, SonicSense signifies an extremely necessary innovation that has applications spanning aerospace, healthcare, robotics, engineering and more. The limitations of the traditional imaging techniques will be surpassed by SonicSense and can bring a revolutionary change to how robots make sense of our real and complex world.

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