Bio-inspired sound source localization compensated for sound diffraction by binaural head and torso

The outer ears of most mammals are relatively large, transformable, and complicated in shape. In humans, the ears are located on opposite sides of the head. Although sound is diffracted by the outer ear, head, and body, sound diffraction has not been considered in previous biological neural approaches to sound source localization. In the present paper, the effect of sound diffraction on sound source localization is evaluated and a new method for compensating for sound diffraction in sound source localization is proposed in which a similar model to an owl´s auditory system is applied to a binaural human head and torso.