Abstract An apparatus is described in which acoustic diffractions are generated. Such diffractions are recorded in the field when seismic data is collected over a geological area that has many faults and truncated geological structures. The design of the experiment is considered from the point of view of theoretical feasibility and practical implementation. A computer-controlled transceiver is guided on a traverse perpendicular to a model of a rigid half-plane. At each transceiver location an acoustic pulse is emitted, and the scattered acoustic pulse is recorded. Results of this experiment are presented and analyzed from the perspective of Keller’s geometric theory of diffraction. The predicted asymmetry of the diffraction hyperbola is observed in the model data collected.