The Effect of Spectral Variation on Sound Localisation
Abstract
Previous research has suggested that spatialised auditory displays will enhance operator performance in many military settings. It is well known that a sound's spectrum must be broad and relatively flat for the sound to be accurately localised. The study described here examined the effect of systematically varying the evenness of a sound's spectrum on the accuracy with which the sound can be localised. Six participants localised spectrally scrambled sounds produced by setting the sound levels in the 98-, 391- or 1562-Hz wide frequency bands comprising a broadband (0-25 kHz) sound to random values within a 0-, 20-, 40- or 60-dB range. Localisation errors were found to increase with increases in both bandwidth and band-level range. Scrambling the spectra of sounds over a 60 dB range led to as much as a doubling of mean elevation error and a trebling of front/back confusion rate. The accuracy with which these sounds could be localised was found to be highly correlated with a simple measure of spectral variation. The results of this study inform the development of guidelines for designing localisable sounds to be used in spatialised auditory displays.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA454168
Entities
People
- Ken Mcanally
- Patrick Flanagan
- Russell Martin
- Tavis Watt
Organizations
- Defence Science and Technology Group