Using psychoacoustical models for information sonification

Psychoacoustical models provide algorithmic methods of estimating the perceptual sensation that will be caused by a given sound stimulus. Four primary psychoacoustical models are most often used: ‘loudness’, ‘sharpness’, ‘roughness’, and ‘fluctuation strength’, models for which have been presented by Zwicker and Fastl [1]. These four models have been used extensively for optimising product sound quality in industrial sound design applications. However, they also may be applied for auditory display purposes. This paper presents a method for their application and discusses effects and implications of using this method for designing auditory displays. This paper is primarily theoretical ‐ however, sound examples of auditory graphing based on psychoacoustical models will be presented at the conference for discussion.

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