Aplicación de lectoescritura para dispositivos con Sistema Operativo Android

El presente proyecto pretende ser una herramienta para la enseñanza de la lectoescritura (enseñar a leer y a escribir) para niños con discapacidad, haciendo para ello uso de una aplicación que se ejecuta en una tablet con Sistema Operativo (S.O.) Android. Existe un vacío en el mundo de las aplicaciones para tabletas en este campo en el que se intentará poner un grano de arena para, al menos, tener una aplicación que sirva de toma de contacto a los interesados en este campo. Para establecer las funcionalidades más adecuadas al propósito de la herramienta, se ha consultado a profesionales de la logopedia de un colegio de educación especial, con cuya colaboración se ha dado forma a la estructura de la misma. La implementación de la aplicación se ha llevado a cabo con programación en entorno Java para Android. Se han incluido diferentes recursos como imágenes, pictogramas y locuciones tanto elementos con licencia libre, como elementos propios generados ‘ex profeso’ para dar la forma final a la herramienta. Podemos decir que en general esta aplicación puede ser usada para enseña a leer y escribir a cualquier niño, pero se ha dotado de unas ciertas características que la confieren una orientación especial hacia niños con necesidades educativas especiales. Para ello se ha cuidado mucho la estética, para que ésta sea lo más simple y suave posible, para hacer especial hincapié en la atención de los niños y evitar su distracción con elementos visuales innecesarios. Se ha dotado de estímulos visuales y sonoros para fomentar su interés (aplausos en caso de acierto, colores para diferenciar aciertos y errores, etc.). Se han utilizado los tamaños de letra más grandes posibles (para las discapacidades visuales), etc. El mercado cuenta con una ingente cantidad de dispositivos Android, con características muy dispares, de tamaño de pantalla, resolución y versiones del S.O. entre otras. La aplicación se ha desarrollado tratando de dar cobertura al mayor porcentaje de ellos posible. El requisito mínimo de tamaño de pantalla sería de siete pulgadas. Esta herramienta no tiene demasiado sentido en dispositivos con pantallas menores por las características intrínsecas de la misma. No obstante se ha trabajado también en la configuración para dispositivos pequeños, como “smartphones”, no por su valor como herramienta para la enseñanza de la lectoescritura (aunque en algunos casos podría ser viable) sino más bien con fines de prueba y entrenamiento para profesores, padres o tutores que realizarán la labor docente con dispositivos tablet. Otro de los requisitos, como se ha mencionado, para poder ejecutar la aplicación sería la versión mínima de S.O., por debajo de la cual (versiones muy obsoletas) la aplicación sería inviable. Sirva este proyecto pues para cubrir, mediante el uso de la tecnología, un aspecto de la enseñanza con grandes oportunidades de mejora. ----------------------- This Project is aimed to be a tool for teaching reading and writing skills to handicapped children with an Android application. There are no Android applications available on this field, so it is intended to provide at least one option to take contact with. Speech therapy professionals from a special needs school have been asked for the most suitable functions to be included in this tool. The structure of this tool has been made with the cooperation of these professionals. The implementation of the application has been performed through Java coding for Android. Different resources have been included such as pictures, pictograms and sounds, including free licenses resources and self-developed resources. In general, it can be said that this application can be used to teach learning and writing skills to any given kid, however it has been provided of certain features that makes it ideal for children with special educational needs. It has been strongly taken into account the whole aesthetic to be as simple and soft as possible, in order to get attention of children, excluding any visual disturbing elements. It has been provided with sound and visual stimulations, to attract their interest (applauses in cases of correct answers, different colours to differentiate right or wrong answers), etc. There are many different types of Android devices, with very heterogeneous features regarding their screen size, resolution and O.S. version, etc., available today. The application has been developed trying to cover most of them. Minimum screen resolution is seven inches. This tool doesn’t seem to be very useful for smaller screens, for its inner features. Nevertheless, it has been developed for smaller devices as well, like smartphones, not intended to be a tool for teaching reading and writing skills (even it could be possible in some cases), but in a test and training context for teachers, parents or guardians who do the teaching work with tablet devices. Another requirement, as stated before, in order to be able to run the application, it would be the minimum O.S. version, below that (very obsolete versions) the application would become impracticable. Hope this project to be used to fulfill, by means of technology, one area of teaching with great improvement opportunities.

Arquitectura industrial tabacalera en la España peninsular: secaderos y fábricas

La Arquitectura industrial del tabaco en España está representada por dos tipos de construcciones, que corresponden a las dos fases en las que se divide el proceso de producción del tabaco: los secaderos (arquitectura bioclimática donde se realiza el secado), y las fábricas (centros donde se elabora el tabaco procedente de los secaderos). Las fábricas se repartieron por todo el territorio español, ocupando preferiblemente los lugares costeros, aunque existen casos en los que su localización obedecía a razones políticas. Estos edificios, en su mayoría, incluidos en los centros históricos de las ciudades, han cambiando de uso, y las antiguas fábricas de tabaco se han transformado en su mayoría, en centros de cultura, o centros sociales y representativos. La tesis surge del análisis de las características constructivas de la arquitectura industrial del tabaco: de los secaderos y de las fábricas, por tratarse de una tipología con suficiente entidad y un ejemplo de arquitectura bioclimática de producción en el caso de los secaderos, y por conseguir haberse adaptado a otros usos en el caso de las fábricas. La arquitectura de producción emplea un lenguaje acorde con los avances de la industrialización, anticipando materiales y estructuras, y condensando en una tipología específica las complejas relaciones establecidas entre producto, hombres y espacio. Estos edificios tuvieron una extensa implantación en el territorio, y se caracterizan por una serie de valores tecnológicos, arquitectónicos, sociológicos y paisajísticos, que hacen de ellos un documento de primera magnitud para conocer: la evolución e implantación de las técnicas constructivas (materiales y estructuras), los procesos de innovación tipológica y la estructura económica y procedimientos técnicos utilizados. El territorio en el que se insertan constituye su contexto territorial, por lo que no sería adecuado considerar estos edificios como elementos aislados, sin analizar la relación con el entorno en el que se generaron. Por este motivo, se analizan las condiciones higrotérmicas ambientales de los secaderos para compararlas con las de confort humano y establecer relaciones y parámetros compatibles. Los ejemplos analizados de secaderos son todos de fábrica. El uso del ladrillo como módulo principal para la elaboración de un edificio, supone la consideración de un “grado cero” de todo el aparato constructivo y compositivo de la arquitectura. Dejar el ladrillo visto, supone hacer explícitos todos los procesos acumulativos. Este elemento mínimo, permite unas posibilidades enormemente abiertas, pero no absolutamente aleatorias, que definen su propia lógica combinatoria. La exigencia de sinceridad, característica de la arquitectura industrial, en la exposición de los materiales, exhibiéndolos en su propia naturaleza y en el modo real de ser utilizados, se hace patente en este tipo de construcción. Se realiza un estudio de permeabilidad en las fachadas de los secaderos, para determinar el grado de ventilación y su relación con la orientación, el patrón de celosía empleado y el volumen total. Este sistema de acondicionamiento climático específico, puede servir de recurso a otras construcciones, por lo que se podría trasladar el sistema constructivo y formal de los secaderos a otros usos, desde una doble vertiente: Arquitectura para la adaptación climática al entorno. Arquitectura como generadora de condiciones climáticas específicas, en el interior. La utilidad de los secaderos es fundamentalmente: proporcionar sombra, ventilación y un espacio cubierto, pero permeable en sus fachadas. La arquitectura industrial debe ser reconocida dentro del conjunto patrimonial, debido a sus características propias que permiten su diferenciación del resto de la arquitectura. Conocer la estructura productiva permite analizar correctamente estas construcciones, ya que el programa inicial es básico para entender la organización del espacio interior. Las fábricas no se situaron cerca de las zonas de producción del tabaco, excepto en dos casos: Cádiz y Palazuelo, en los que existen secaderos y campos de cultivo de hoja de tabaco en las áreas cercanas. La principal causa de esta separación es que el proceso de obtención de tabaco es un proceso dividido en dos fases principales: proceso primario y proceso secundario. En el proceso primario la hoja de tabaco se seca en los secaderos, en los que es determinante el clima, pero únicamente en el caso del secado del tabaco al aire. En el proceso secundario sin embargo, el tabaco llega previamente tratado a las fábricas, por lo que no influye el clima en esta parte del proceso. Esta razón determina que en las áreas climáticas donde se centra el estudio, haya zonas en las que existen fábrica y secaderos y otras en las que únicamente existe fábrica, o sólo secaderos. La localización de las fábricas atendía a razones de muy diferente índole, las más importantes fueron: geográficas, estratégicas, y políticas. En la mayoría de las fábricas la elección de la ciudad de emplazamiento estaba ligada a la recepción de la materia prima, que principalmente se hacía por vía marítima, o acuática (el caso de Sevilla), y por vía terrestre, utilizando como medio de transporte el ferrocarril. Sólo dos casos, de las antiguas fábricas, corresponden a razones políticas, son las dos únicas que no están en la costa: Madrid y Logroño. La de Madrid se construyó por centralidad política, y porque geográficamente ocupaba el punto central de todas las comunicaciones terrestres por carretera y ferrocarril. Muchas de las fábricas se situaron cercanas a las estaciones de ferrocarril. La de Logroño atendió, sin embargo, a razones políticas. Para finalizar, se realiza un estudio comparativo de las fábricas de Sevilla, Madrid y San Sebastián. Las razones que justifican esta elección son: - La de Sevilla fue históricamente la primera fábrica y la más importante. - La de Madrid fue la más importante a nivel administrativo, la sede de Tabacalera se instaló en la capital, y después de la de Sevilla, fue la que sirvió de modelo al resto de las fábricas. - La de San Sebastián era la más grande del Norte. Los análisis que se han realizado son de: volumen y superficies de patios, superficies de cubierta, permeabilidad o huecos en fachadas, orientación y soleamiento de patios, distribución espacial interior y organización, y evolución de usos. Podemos observar que en la mayoría de estas fábricas ha habido una transformación en el uso, pasando de ser edificios industriales a edificios culturales. Estas construcciones se pueden considerar como infraestructuras adaptables, por ser útiles, sostenibles y funcionales. ABSTRACT The Spanish industrial architecture of tobacco is represented by two construction types that correspond to the two phases of tobacco production: the drying sheds (bioclimatic constructions where the drying process takes place) and factories (centres where tobacco is processed after the drying process). The factories were distributed throughout the Spanish territory, preferably occupying coastal locations, although some of them were located elsewhere following political reasons. Most of the buildings inside city centres have suffered changes in their use, becoming cultural, social or representative centres. This thesis attempts the analysis of the constructive systems employed in tobacco industrial architecture, from drying sheds to factories. The drying sheds are an example of bioclimatic industrial architecture. The factories are a typology that have successfully adapted to new uses. Industrial architecture uses a language that follows the advances in industrialization, anticipating new materials and structures, and merging the complex relationships established among products, human beings, space and locations. These buildings were promoted extensively in the country. They are characterized by technological architectural sociological and landscaping innovations. They are considered as important examples of the evolution and the implementation of construction techniques (building materials and structures). They are also considered as examples of innovation in the building typology, in their economic structure and in the technologies that they have applied. The settings in which the drying sheds are placed have an important influence in them. They cannot be considered as isolated elements. Instead, there is a close relationship between drying sheds and the surroundings in which they are located. Drying sheds’ hygrotermal and environmental conditions are analyzed in this thesis to compare them with the values of human comfort and find suitable relationships and parameters. All the drying sheds that have been analyzed are constructed with brick. This implies a consideration of “zero degree” for both the construction and the composition of the architectural process. The detailing - entails making all the accumulative processes explicit as the brick walls are left exposed. This minimal component allows a wide range of options that are never random but based on the logic of the way in which it is combined. The “sincerity” in the exposition of material, displaying them in their very nature and showing how they are really used, is a basic characteristic of industrial architecture, and it is even more expressive in these types of buildings. The walls of the drying sheds undergo a permeability assessment in order to determine the degree of ventilation and orientation, the lattice pattern used and the overall volume. This specific conditioning system can serve as a resource for other buildings, and consequently, it could be transferred to other uses within a two-pronged approach: -Climatically adapted architecture that takes into account the surroundings. -Architecture as a generator of specific climatic conditions indoors. Drying sheds’ main purposes / aims deal with how to provide shade, ventilation and a covered space as well as permeability. The industrial architecture must be recognized as historical valuable buildings due to its intrinsic and distinctive characteristics. Knowing the productive structure, allow us to make a proper analysis of these buildings, since the basic aim, is to understand the spatial organization indoors. Factories did not come close to the tobacco production, with the exception of Cádiz and Palazuelo, where there are sheds and tobacco croplands nearby. The main reason for this separation is that the process of obtaining tobacco has two processes: the primary process and the secondary process. In the primary process tobacco leaves are left to dry. In the secondary process, previously manufactured tobacco allocated in the factories where the weather conditions are not important. This fact determines that in the climate areas where this study tales place there are some cases in which we can find both factories and drying sheds, and others where there are either factories or drying sheds only. The location of these factories met various demands, being the most outstanding the ones related to geographic, strategic and political reasons. In most factories the choice of its location was often linked to the incoming of raw goods, mainly delivered through waterways –it is the case of Seville,) and by land, using railways. The location of the factories was linked to political reasons in only two cases Madrid and Logroño, which are the only ones that are not placed near the coast. The one in Madrid was built due to its political centrality and because geographically speaking, it was the reference landmark of means of land and rail transports. Many factories, in fact, were settled nearby rail stations. For the factory in Logroño, only political reasons were taken into consideration. I should like to close by undertaking a comparative study of factories in Seville, Madrid and San Sebastian. There are a number of reasons to substantiate this choice: -The factory in Seville was historically speaking the first that was built and the most important one. -The factory in Madrid was the most important one administratively. This factory was the headquarters as well as being, after Seville, the one which provided a model for other factories. -The factory in San Sebastian is the biggest in the North of Spain. The analysis carried out are related to the volume of the buildings and the surface areas of the courtyards, the surface of the roofs, the permeability of the walls and the openings of the façade, the orientation and the sun exposure, the indoor spatial distribution and organization and evolution of the uses (formerly and currently) I observe that in most of these factories there has been a change in the use of the buildings, from industrial cultural purposes. These buildings can be considered as adaptable infrastructures based on a combination of architectural practicability, sustainability and functionality.

Towards Mapping Experience Design for the Internet of Things.

We are witnessing a fundamental transformation in how Internet of Things (IoT) is having an impact on the experience users have with data-driven devices, smart appliances, and connected products. The experience of any place is commonly defined as the result of a series of user engagements with a surrounding place in order to carry out daily activities (Golledge, 2002). Knowing about users? experiences becomes vital to the process of designing a map. In the near future, a user will be able to interact directly with any IoT device placed in his surrounding place and very little is known on what kinds of interactions and experiences a map might offer (Roth, 2015). The main challenge is to develop an experience design process to devise maps capable of supporting different user experience dimensions such as cognitive, sensory-physical, affective, and social (Tussyadiah and Zach, 2012). For example, in a smart city of the future, the IoT devices allowing a multimodal interaction with a map could help tourists in the assimilation of their knowledge about points of interest (cognitive experience), their association of sounds and smells to these places (sensory-physical experience), their emotional connection to them (affective experience) and their relationships with other nearby tourists (social experience). This paper aims to describe a conceptual framework for developing a Mapping Experience Design (MXD) process for building maps for smart connected places of the future. Our MXD process is focussed on the cognitive dimension of an experience in which a person perceives a place as a "living entity" that uses and feeds through his experiences. We want to help people to undergo a meaningful experience of a place through mapping what is being communicated during their interactions with the IoT devices situated in this place. Our purpose is to understand how maps can support a person?s experience in making better decisions in real-time.

Análisis del efecto laminador del cauce utilizando modelos fluviales bidimensionales

El método de Muskingum-Cunge, con más de 45 años de historia, sigue siendo uno de los más empleados a la hora de calcular el tránsito en un cauce. Una vez calibrado, permite realizar cálculos precisos, siendo asimismo mucho más rápido que los métodos que consideran las ecuaciones completas. Por esta razón, en el presente trabajo de investigación se llevó a cabo un análisis de su precisión, comparándolo con los resultados de un modelo hidráulico bidimensional. En paralelo se llevó a cabo un análisis de sus limitaciones y se ensayó una metodología práctica de aplicación. Con esta motivación se llevaron a cabo más de 200 simulaciones de tránsito en cauces prismáticos y naturales. Los cálculos se realizaron empleando el programa HEC-HMS con el método de Muskingum-Cunge de sección de 8 puntos, así como con la herramienta de cálculo hidráulico bidimensional InfoWorks ICM. Se eligieron HEC-HMS por su gran difusión e InfoWorks ICM por su rapidez de cálculo, pues emplea la tecnología CUDA (Arquitectura Unificada de Dispositivos de Cálculo). Inicialmente se validó el modelo hidráulico bidimensional contrastándolo con la formulación unidimensional en régimen uniforme y variado, así como con fórmulas analíticas de régimen variable, consiguiéndose resultados muy satisfactorios. También se llevó a cabo un análisis de la sensibilidad al mallado del modelo bidimensional aplicado a tránsitos, obteniéndose unos ábacos con tamaños recomendados de los elementos 2D que cuantifican el error cometido. Con la técnica del análisis dimensional se revisó una correlación de los resultados obtenidos entre ambos métodos, ponderando su precisión y definiendo intervalos de validez para la mejor utilización del método de Muskingum-Cunge. Simultáneamente se desarrolló una metodología que permite obtener la sección característica media de 8 puntos para el cálculo de un tránsito, basándose en una serie de simulaciones bidimensionales simplificadas. De este modo se pretende facilitar el uso y la correcta definición de los modelos hidrológicos. The Muskingum-Cunge methodology, which has been used for more 45 than years, is still one of the main procedures to calculate stream routing. Once calibrated, it gives precise results, and it is also much faster than other methods that consider the full hydraulic equations. Therefore, in the present investigation an analysis of its accuracy was carried out by comparing it with the results of a two-dimensional hydraulic model. At the same time, reasonable ranges of applicability as well as an iterative method for its adequate use were defined. With this motivation more than 200 simulations of stream routing were conducted in both synthetic and natural waterways. Calculations were performed with the aid of HEC-HMS choosing the Muskingum-Cunge 8 point cross-section method and in InfoWorks ICM, a two-dimensional hydraulic calculation software. HEC-HMS was chosen because its extensive use and InfoWorks ICM for its calculation speed as it takes advantage of the CUDA technology (Compute Unified Device Architecture). Initially, the two-dimensional hydraulic engine was compared to one-dimensional formulation in both uniform and varied flow. Then it was contrasted to variable flow analytical formulae, achieving most satisfactory results. A sensitivity size analysis of the two-dimensional rooting model mesh was also conduced, obtaining charts with suggested 2D element sizes to narrow the committed error. With the technique of dimensional analysis a correlation of results between the two methods was reviewed, assessing their accuracy and defining valid intervals for improved use of the Muskingum-Cunge method. Simultaneously, a methodology to draw a representative 8 point cross-section was developed, based on a sequence of simplified two-dimensional simulations. This procedure is intended to provide a simplified approach and accurate definition of hydrological models.

Aplicación de lectoescritura para dispositivos con Sistema Operativo Android

El presente proyecto pretende ser una herramienta para la enseñanza de la lectoescritura (enseñar a leer y a escribir) para niños con discapacidad, haciendo para ello uso de una aplicación que se ejecuta en una tablet con Sistema Operativo (S.O.) Android. Existe un vacío en el mundo de las aplicaciones para tabletas en este campo en el que se intentará poner un grano de arena para, al menos, tener una aplicación que sirva de toma de contacto a los interesados en este campo. Para establecer las funcionalidades más adecuadas al propósito de la herramienta, se ha consultado a profesionales de la logopedia de un colegio de educación especial, con cuya colaboración se ha dado forma a la estructura de la misma. La implementación de la aplicación se ha llevado a cabo con programación en entorno Java para Android. Se han incluido diferentes recursos como imágenes, pictogramas y locuciones tanto elementos con licencia libre, como elementos propios generados ‘ex profeso’ para dar la forma final a la herramienta. Podemos decir que en general esta aplicación puede ser usada para enseña a leer y escribir a cualquier niño, pero se ha dotado de unas ciertas características que la confieren una orientación especial hacia niños con necesidades educativas especiales. Para ello se ha cuidado mucho la estética, para que ésta sea lo más simple y suave posible, para hacer especial hincapié en la atención de los niños y evitar su distracción con elementos visuales innecesarios. Se ha dotado de estímulos visuales y sonoros para fomentar su interés (aplausos en caso de acierto, colores para diferenciar aciertos y errores, etc.). Se han utilizado los tamaños de letra más grandes posibles (para las discapacidades visuales), etc. El mercado cuenta con una ingente cantidad de dispositivos Android, con características muy dispares, de tamaño de pantalla, resolución y versiones del S.O. entre otras. La aplicación se ha desarrollado tratando de dar cobertura al mayor porcentaje de ellos posible. El requisito mínimo de tamaño de pantalla sería de siete pulgadas. Esta herramienta no tiene demasiado sentido en dispositivos con pantallas menores por las características intrínsecas de la misma. No obstante se ha trabajado también en la configuración para dispositivos pequeños, como “smartphones”, no por su valor como herramienta para la enseñanza de la lectoescritura (aunque en algunos casos podría ser viable) sino más bien con fines de prueba y entrenamiento para profesores, padres o tutores que realizarán la labor docente con dispositivos tablet. Otro de los requisitos, como se ha mencionado, para poder ejecutar la aplicación sería la versión mínima de S.O., por debajo de la cual (versiones muy obsoletas) la aplicación sería inviable. Sirva este proyecto pues para cubrir, mediante el uso de la tecnología, un aspecto de la enseñanza con grandes oportunidades de mejora. ABSTRACT. This Project is aimed to be a tool for teaching reading and writing skills to handicapped children with an Android application. There are no Android applications available on this field, so it is intended to provide at least one option to take contact with. Speech therapy professionals from a special needs school have been asked for the most suitable functions to be included in this tool. The structure of this tool has been made with the cooperation of these professionals. The implementation of the application has been performed through Java coding for Android. Different resources have been included such as pictures, pictograms and sounds, including free licenses resources and self-developed resources. In general, it can be said that this application can be used to teach learning and writing skills to any given kid, however it has been provided of certain features that makes it ideal for children with special educational needs. It has been strongly taken into account the whole aesthetic to be as simple and soft as possible, in order to get attention of children, excluding any visual disturbing elements. It has been provided with sound and visual stimulations, to attract their interest (applauses in cases of correct answers, different colours to differentiate right or wrong answers), etc. There are many different types of Android devices, with very heterogeneous features regarding their screen size, resolution and O.S. version, etc., available today. The application has been developed trying to cover most of them. Minimum screen resolution is seven inches. This tool doesn’t seem to be very useful for smaller screens, for its inner features. Nevertheless, it has been developed for smaller devices as well, like smartphones, not intended to be a tool for teaching reading and writing skills (even it could be possible in some cases), but in a test and training context for teachers, parents or guardians who do the teaching work with tablet devices. Another requirement, as stated before, in order to be able to run the application, it would be the minimum O.S. version, below that (very obsolete versions) the application would become impracticable. Hope this project to be used to fulfill, by means of technology, one area of teaching with great improvement opportunities.

Desarrollo de una herramienta de análisis de la señal de voz

El habla es la principal herramienta de comunicación de la que dispone el ser humano que, no sólo le permite expresar su pensamiento y sus sentimientos sino que le distingue como individuo. El análisis de la señal de voz es fundamental para múltiples aplicaciones como pueden ser: síntesis y reconocimiento de habla, codificación, detección de patologías, identificación y reconocimiento de locutor… En el mercado se pueden encontrar herramientas comerciales o de libre distribución para realizar esta tarea. El objetivo de este Proyecto Fin de Grado es reunir varios algoritmos de análisis de la señal de voz en una única herramienta que se manejará a través de un entorno gráfico. Los algoritmos están siendo utilizados en el Grupo de investigación en Aplicaciones MultiMedia y Acústica de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid para llevar a cabo su tarea investigadora y para ofertar talleres formativos a los alumnos de grado de la Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería y Sistemas de Telecomunicación. Actualmente se ha encontrado alguna dificultad para poder aplicar los algoritmos ya que se han ido desarrollando a lo largo de varios años, por distintas personas y en distintos entornos de programación. Se han adaptado los programas existentes para generar una única herramienta en MATLAB que permite: . Detección de voz . Detección sordo/sonoro . Extracción y revisión manual de frecuencia fundamental de los sonidos sonoros . Extracción y revisión manual de formantes de los sonidos sonoros En todos los casos el usuario puede ajustar los parámetros de análisis y se ha mantenido y, en algunos casos, ampliado la funcionalidad de los algoritmos existentes. Los resultados del análisis se pueden manejar directamente en la aplicación o guardarse en un fichero. Por último se ha escrito el manual de usuario de la aplicación y se ha generado una aplicación independiente que puede instalarse y ejecutarse aunque no se disponga del software o de la versión adecuada de MATLAB. ABSTRACT. The speech is the main communication tool which has the human that as well as allowing to express his thoughts and feelings distinguishes him as an individual. The analysis of speech signal is essential for multiple applications such as: synthesis and recognition of speech, coding, detection of pathologies, identification and speaker recognition… In the market you can find commercial or open source tools to perform this task. The aim of this Final Degree Project is collect several algorithms of speech signal analysis in a single tool which will be managed through a graphical environment. These algorithms are being used in the research group Aplicaciones MultiMedia y Acústica at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid to carry out its research work and to offer training workshops for students at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería y Sistemas de Telecomunicación. Currently some difficulty has been found to be able to apply the algorithms as they have been developing over several years, by different people and in different programming environments. Existing programs have been adapted to generate a single tool in MATLAB that allows: . Voice Detection . Voice/Unvoice Detection . Extraction and manual review of fundamental frequency of voiced sounds . Extraction and manual review formant voiced sounds In all cases the user can adjust the scan settings, we have maintained and in some cases expanded the functionality of existing algorithms. The analysis results can be managed directly in the application or saved to a file. Finally we have written the application user’s manual and it has generated a standalone application that can be installed and run although the user does not have MATLAB software or the appropriate version.

Acoustic overstimulation increases outer hair cell Ca2+ concentrations and causes dynamic contractions of the hearing organ

The dynamic responses of the hearing organ to acoustic overstimulation were investigated using the guinea pig isolated temporal bone preparation. The organ was loaded with the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator Fluo-3, and the cochlear electric responses to low-level tones were recorded through a microelectrode in the scala media. After overstimulation, the amplitude of the cochlear potentials decreased significantly. In some cases, rapid recovery was seen with the potentials returning to their initial amplitude. In 12 of 14 cases in which overstimulation gave a decrease in the cochlear responses, significant elevations of the cytoplasmic [Ca2+] in the outer hair cells were seen. [Ca2+] increases appeared immediately after terminating the overstimulation, with partial recovery taking place in the ensuing 30 min in some preparations. Such [Ca2+] changes were not seen in preparations that were stimulated at levels that did not cause an amplitude change in the cochlear potentials. The overstimulation also gave rise to a contraction, evident as a decrease of the width of the organ of Corti. The average contraction in 10 preparations was 9 μm (SE 2 μm). Partial or complete recovery was seen within 30–45 min after the overstimulation. The [Ca2+] changes and the contraction are likely to produce major functional alterations and consequently are suggested to be a factor contributing strongly to the loss of function seen after exposure to loud sounds.

Echo-delay resolution in sonar images of the big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus

Echolocating big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) broadcast ultrasonic frequency-modulated (FM) biosonar sounds (20–100 kHz frequencies; 10–50 μs periods) and perceive target range from echo delay. Knowing the acuity for delay resolution is essential to understand how bats process echoes because they perceive target shape and texture from the delay separation of multiple reflections. Bats can separately perceive the delays of two concurrent electronically generated echoes arriving as little as 2 μs apart, thus resolving reflecting points as close together as 0.3 mm in range (two-point threshold). This two-point resolution is roughly five times smaller than the shortest periods in the bat’s sounds. Because the bat’s broadcasts are 2,000–4,500 μs long, the echoes themselves overlap and interfere with each other, to merge together into a single sound whose spectrum is shaped by their mutual interference depending on the size of the time separation. To separately perceive the delays of overlapping echoes, the bat has to recover information about their very small delay separation that was transferred into the spectrum when the two echoes interfered with each other, thus explicitly reconstructing the range profile of targets from the echo spectrum. However, the bat’s 2-μs resolution limit is so short that the available spectral cues are extremely limited. Resolution of delay seems overly sharp just for interception of flying insects, which suggests that the bat’s biosonar images are of higher quality to suit a wider variety of orientation tasks, and that biosonar echo processing is correspondingly more sophisticated than has been suspected.

Transient “deafness” accompanies auditory development during metamorphosis from tadpole to frog

During metamorphosis, ranid frogs shift from a purely aquatic to a partly terrestrial lifestyle. The central auditory system undergoes functional and neuroanatomical reorganization in parallel with the development of new sound conduction pathways adapted for the detection of airborne sounds. Neural responses to sounds can be recorded from the auditory midbrain of tadpoles shortly after hatching, with higher rates of synchronous neural activity and lower sharpness of tuning than observed in postmetamorphic animals. Shortly before the onset of metamorphic climax, there is a brief “deaf” period during which no auditory activity can be evoked from the midbrain, and a loss of connectivity is observed between medullary and midbrain auditory nuclei. During the final stages of metamorphic development, auditory function and neural connectivity are restored. The acoustic communication system of the adult frog emerges from these periods of anatomical and physiological plasticity during metamorphosis.

Cortical processing of change detection: Dissociation between natural vowels and two-frequency complex tones

We compared magnetoencephalographic responses for natural vowels and for sounds consisting of two pure tones that represent the two lowest formant frequencies of these vowels. Our aim was to determine whether spectral changes in successive stimuli are detected differently for speech and nonspeech sounds. The stimuli were presented in four blocks applying an oddball paradigm (20% deviants, 80% standards): (i) /α/ tokens as deviants vs. /i/ tokens as standards; (ii) /e/ vs. /i/; (iii) complex tones representing /α/ formants vs. /i/ formants; and (iv) complex tones representing /e/ formants vs. /i/ formants. Mismatch fields (MMFs) were calculated by subtracting the source waveform produced by standards from that produced by deviants. As expected, MMF amplitudes for the complex tones reflected acoustic deviation: the amplitudes were stronger for the complex tones representing /α/ than /e/ formants, i.e., when the spectral difference between standards and deviants was larger. In contrast, MMF amplitudes for the vowels were similar despite their different spectral composition, whereas the MMF onset time was longer for /e/ than for /α/. Thus the degree of spectral difference between standards and deviants was reflected by the MMF amplitude for the nonspeech sounds and by the MMF latency for the vowels.

Reactivation of encoding-related brain activity during memory retrieval

Neuronal models predict that retrieval of specific event information reactivates brain regions that were active during encoding of this information. Consistent with this prediction, this positron-emission tomography study showed that remembering that visual words had been paired with sounds at encoding activated some of the auditory brain regions that were engaged during encoding. After word-sound encoding, activation of auditory brain regions was also observed during visual word recognition when there was no demand to retrieve auditory information. Collectively, these observations suggest that information about the auditory components of multisensory event information is stored in auditory responsive cortex and reactivated at retrieval, in keeping with classical ideas about “redintegration,” that is, the power of part of an encoded stimulus complex to evoke the whole experience.

Memory's echo: Vivid remembering reactivates sensory-specific cortex

A fundamental question in human memory is how the brain represents sensory-specific information during the process of retrieval. One hypothesis is that regions of sensory cortex are reactivated during retrieval of sensory-specific information (1). Here we report findings from a study in which subjects learned a set of picture and sound items and were then given a recall test during which they vividly remembered the items while imaged by using event-related functional MRI. Regions of visual and auditory cortex were activated differentially during retrieval of pictures and sounds, respectively. Furthermore, the regions activated during the recall test comprised a subset of those activated during a separate perception task in which subjects actually viewed pictures and heard sounds. Regions activated during the recall test were found to be represented more in late than in early visual and auditory cortex. Therefore, results indicate that retrieval of vivid visual and auditory information can be associated with a reactivation of some of the same sensory regions that were activated during perception of those items.

How do owls localize interaurally phase-ambiguous signals?

Owls and other animals, including humans, use the difference in arrival time of sounds between the ears to determine the direction of a sound source in the horizontal plane. When an interaural time difference (ITD) is conveyed by a narrowband signal such as a tone, human beings may fail to derive the direction represented by that ITD. This is because they cannot distinguish the true ITD contained in the signal from its phase equivalents that are ITD ± nT, where T is the period of the stimulus tone and n is an integer. This uncertainty is called phase-ambiguity. All ITD-sensitive neurons in birds and mammals respond to an ITD and its phase equivalents when the ITD is contained in narrowband signals. It is not known, however, if these animals show phase-ambiguity in the localization of narrowband signals. The present work shows that barn owls (Tyto alba) experience phase-ambiguity in the localization of tones delivered by earphones. We used sound-induced head-turning responses to measure the sound-source directions perceived by two owls. In both owls, head-turning angles varied as a sinusoidal function of ITD. One owl always pointed to the direction represented by the smaller of the two ITDs, whereas a second owl always chose the direction represented by the larger ITD (i.e., ITD − T).

How the owl resolves auditory coding ambiguity

The barn owl (Tyto alba) uses interaural time difference (ITD) cues to localize sounds in the horizontal plane. Low-order binaural auditory neurons with sharp frequency tuning act as narrow-band coincidence detectors; such neurons respond equally well to sounds with a particular ITD and its phase equivalents and are said to be phase ambiguous. Higher-order neurons with broad frequency tuning are unambiguously selective for single ITDs in response to broad-band sounds and show little or no response to phase equivalents. Selectivity for single ITDs is thought to arise from the convergence of parallel, narrow-band frequency channels that originate in the cochlea. ITD tuning to variable bandwidth stimuli was measured in higher-order neurons of the owl’s inferior colliculus to examine the rules that govern the relationship between frequency channel convergence and the resolution of phase ambiguity. Ambiguity decreased as stimulus bandwidth increased, reaching a minimum at 2–3 kHz. Two independent mechanisms appear to contribute to the elimination of ambiguity: one suppressive and one facilitative. The integration of information carried by parallel, distributed processing channels is a common theme of sensory processing that spans both modality and species boundaries. The principles underlying the resolution of phase ambiguity and frequency channel convergence in the owl may have implications for other sensory systems, such as electrolocation in electric fish and the computation of binocular disparity in the avian and mammalian visual systems.