Electronic Journal Technical Acoustics ISSN 1819-2408

György Wersényi

Localization in a HRTF-based Minimum-Audible-Angle Listening test for GUIB applications

language: English

received 15.12.2006, published 16.01.2007

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ABSTRACT

Listening tests were carried out for investigating the localization judgments of 40 untrained subjects through equalized headphones and with HRTF (Head-Related Transfer Function) synthesis. The investigation was made on the basis of the former GUIB (Graphical User Interface for Blind Persons) project in order to determine the possibilities of a 2D virtual sound screen and headphone playback. Results are presented about the minimum, maximum and average values of discrimination skills. The measurement method includes a special 3-category-forced-choice Minimum Audible Angle report on a screen-like rectangle virtual auditory surface in front of the listener. Average spatial resolution of 7-11° and 15-24° were measured in the horizontal plane and median plane respectively dependent of spectral content of the noise signal excitation. Accessory signal processing is suggested to enhance poor vertical localization performance.

Keywords: digital signal processing, sound source localization, user interface, blind

16 pages, 3 figures

Сitation: György Wersényi. Localization in a HRTF-based Minimum-Audible-Angle Listening test for GUIB applications. Electronic Journal “Technical Acoustics”, http://www.ejta.org, 2007, 1.

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György Wersényi was born in Gyor, Hungary, in 1975. He received a M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Budapest in 1998. He spent another four years as a full-time Ph.D. student there at the "Békésy György" Acoustic Research Laboratory. After spending the academic year 2000-2001 with research scholarship at the Brandenburg Technical University in Cottbus, Germany, he received a Ph.D. degree in 2002 from the BTU Cottbus. He is now lecturer and associate professor at the Szechenyi Istvan University in Gyor. He is the head of the multimedia laboratory and is responsible for international relations of the Department of Telecommunications. He frequently visits the Fachhochschule Leipzig, Germany as invited lecturer for electroacoustics. Dr. Wersenyi is a member of the Hungarian Acoustical Society (OPAKFI) and of the AES. His areas of interest include spatial hearing, acoustic measurements, psychological acoustics, auditory modeling, decoding and transmission of acoustical information. e-mail: wersenyi(at)sze.hu http://uni.sze.hu/ http://vip.tilb.sze.hu/~wersenyi/index.html