Project outline
This research addresses a critical gap in the evaluation of environmental and technical sounds by developing and validating psychoacoustic models for sharpness and impulsiveness within the Sottek Hearing Model (SHM) framework, then optimising these models for real-world complex soundscapes rather than idealised laboratory conditions.
Current sound evaluation methods rely heavily on basic frequency-weighted and time-weighted sound pressure levels, which inadequately capture nuanced perceptual problems in environmental noise. Whilst psychoacoustic loudness is well-established through international standards, sharpness and impulsiveness lack unified, perceptually validated metrics that account for temporal variations and diverse acoustic environments. Existing standards assume idealised sound field conditions that rarely occur in practice, limiting their applicability to real-world measurements in rooms, vehicles, and outdoor spaces.
The research aims to establish standardised definitions and computational models for sharpness and impulsiveness based on the SHM that accurately reflect human perception across diverse soundscapes.
The methodology combines computational model development with psychoacoustic experimentation through an iterative validation cycle. A comprehensive library of environmental and technical sounds will be compiled, including vehicles, machinery, consumer products, and construction activities. Human perception studies using jury testing will validate model predictions against subjective responses. A second research phase may address sound field optimisation by characterising directional effects using dynamic head-related transfer functions.
The validated models will provide improved assessment tools for urban planning, product design, and environmental policy, supporting the creation of sustainable sound futures by closing the gap between physics and human perception.
Project Partner
This project is hosted at the University of Salford and is supported by HEAD Acoustics.
Student
Matt Torjussen