Models of Human Perception

As communications systems have increased in complexity it has become increasingly difficult to measure their performance objectively. In particular, when signals are compressed for more efficient transmission, conventional engineering metrics fail to predict the performance experienced by the end user — the customer. A new generation of objective measurement techniques is emerging based on models of human perception. Such models are potentially able to predict subjective performance for a wide range of transmission technologies. This paper introduces auditory and visual perceptual models and describes the development at BT Laboratories of models suitable for performance assessment. Early applications of the models are also described.