Detecting sound's direction.(EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES: academic)

R & D, March, 2007

Using optical fibers, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, have found a way to create a sensor that detects the direction from which a sound is coming under water. The sensor is designed with two small plates attached by a hinge. One plate is held rigidly, and the other--made of a composite material with the same density as water--is free to move. The moving plate shifts in the sound field and follows the motion of the water. A light signal sent through an optical fiber glued to both plates is modified by the motion of the moving plate, which provides information relative to the sound waves.

* Georgia Institute of Technology, www.gatech.com