TECHNOLOGY

Touchscreen Interface System. - Computer workstation and underwater touchscreen; coordinating all machines as the main point of communication with the dolphins. Hardware and software to be used will be synchronized with Macromedia Director, chosen for its abilities in on-screen animation, audio I/O, device control, and internet compatibility. Director will be used to make on-screen buttons and response displays, synchronize audio and video machines, and record logs of each experiment.

High Frequency Spatial Audio I/O System - Computer workstation with multiple microphones and speakers using 96kHz sample rates. System will parse and classify data, communicate with the other machines in the lab, and playback response sounds via a MIDI or other compatible system. Dolphins vocalize in stereo, emitting high speed and high frequency sound. They also have natural "sonar" - the ability to "see" though solid objects by use of sound. Given these extraordinary abilities, this system must necessarily be of the highest quality possible.

Real-time Audio/Video, I/O Databasing System. (RAVIOS)- A digital system that constantly records with an audio "parser" to identify and classify sounds emitted by the dolphins. Clips would be sent to a database (video server), based on attributes attached either automatically by the parser, or by a human researcher. Programming in the system would then allow for the selection of a "response" clip - all in real-time. This system's visual front end will be the computer touchscreen, and audio front end will be the audio workstation. In addition to real-time uses, this system will be central to the recording of data, and its analysis.

Underwater "Videophone" - A dolphin-activated audio-video system connecting separate dolphin pools. This system will be constantly recording (digitizing) and databasing clips to the RAVIOS, a task central to enlarging the database of recorded dolphin sound, and in the analysis of dolphin-dolphin communication. Deluxe model would include multi-track audio I/O.

High Speed Internet - Works for both science, education, and publicity. Possibilites of connecting remote cetacean videophones