Project outline
A given acoustic environment may consist of numerous individual sound sources with varying acoustic qualities, yet humans can intuitively separate sounds originating from different sources. Prior research has suggested that sources perceived as dominant within a soundscape play a significant role in overall soundscape perception (for example, if the dominant sound sources are pleasant, the soundscape as a whole is perceived as pleasant).
Various studies have investigated the use of psychoacoustic indicators to assess soundscapes. In these studies, recordings of soundscapes are typically analysed as a whole, rather than analysing the individual components separately. The ability to analyse separate sources individually should help to improve understanding of the perception of a given acoustic environment.
As part of this research project, sound source separation methods will be developed to extract individual sources from binaural and ambisonic recordings; methods will also be developed to identify prominent sources within an environment. These methods will then be used to assess acoustic environments.
Project Partners
This project is hosted at the University of Salford and is supported by DEFRA.
Student
Rebecca Hutt