Which aspects of soundscape can the soundscape attributes measure?
Time: 6:20 am
Author: Koji Nagahata
Abstract ID: 2001
The eight perceptual attributes for soundscape assessment provided in ISO/TS 12913-2: 2018 are widely used in recent soundscape studies. Several studies across the language showed that the basic structure of the soundscape appraisal two-dimension space obtained from the attributes are robust. However, this robustness of the basic structure only means the robustness of the linguistic structure of the eight perceptual attributes, and never means those attributes cover the whole human perception of the soundscapes. Some studies suggest there are some appraisal scales which cannot be expressed in the two-dimensional appraisal space. This study discusses which aspects of soundscape can the soundscape attributes measure.
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Development of a feedback interface for in-situ soundscape evaluation
Time: 6:40 pm
Author: Furi Andi Karnapi
Abstract ID: 2084
Studies involving subjective evaluation require feedback from human participants to assess the performance of a system or an environment. A participant is typically presented with a set of metrics to be observed and they present their assessment accordingly. Investigator-led in-situ soundscape evaluation in ISO 12913-2 collects perceptual responses along with other acoustical and locale information. This is a labor intensive and time-consuming processes. To alleviate and complement investigator-led evaluations, a portable and compact feedback system with an e-ink display and capacitive buttons was designed, and is undergoing field tests to address the aforementioned requirements. The system employs a low-cost, low-power microcontroller unit (MCU) with necessary hardware interfaces to enable capacitive sensing. Capacitive buttons provide an intuitive interface and avoid the inherent wear and tear of mechanical buttons. This digitized feedback interface affords the flexibility to synchronize (wired or wirelessly) with a playback system to evaluate an augmented soundscape, and is suitable for both supervised and unsupervised subjective assessments.
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Assessment of inter-IC sound microelectromechanical systems microphones for soundscape reporting
Time: 7:00 pm
Author: Trevor Wong
Abstract ID: 2086
Acoustic parameters obtained from calibrated acoustic equipment are part of the minimum soundscape reporting requirements as stated in Annex A of ISO 12913-2. To dynamically monitor the acoustic environment of a large area, a large network of acoustic sensors could be deployed, albeit at significant cost. Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) microphones offer compact, low-cost and high-performance alternatives to traditional analog microphones. In particular, the use of Inter-IC Sound (IS) communication allows MEMS microphones to be conveniently used in concert with I2S output interfaces for sound actuation. The performance of several IS MEMS Microphones was compared to that of an IEC 61094-4:1996 WS2F microphone in an anechoic chamber and a series of digital filters was designed to compensate for the differences in frequency response. The noise floor, compensated frequency response, acoustic parameter accuracy of IS MEMS were evaluated and recommendations regarding the suitability of the IS MEMS were provided.
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Do visual and audio experiences affect overall satisfaction and restorative potential of the soundscape for different visiting duration in urban blue space?
Time: 6:40 am
Author: Ying Qi
Abstract ID: 2138
People could have a relatively great visiting experience in blue space no matter from visual or audio perspectives. However, blue space gained less attention in previous soundscape researches. More and more studies have proved the effect of visual and audio experience on visiting satisfaction or even the restorative potential of the soundscape. This study conducted an on-site survey in different blue spaces in Xian, China to explore how the visual, audio, and overall visiting satisfaction and the restorative potential of soundscape interacted in blue space. Furthermore, the relationships among them were also explored in different visiting duration. The results suggested that (1) Visual satisfaction didnt change over time while the soundscape satisfaction, overall satisfaction, and soundscape restoration peaked when people had stayed for 1 to 3 hours. (2) For four dimensions of soundscape restoration, Fascination peaked in 30 minutes to 1 hour, and Capability peaked in 30min-3h while Being-away and Extent remained constant. (3) As for overall satisfaction and soundscape restoration, the vision mainly contributed to them in the first 1 hour, while the hearing mainly contributed during 1 to 3 hours of experience. (4) As for POS (perceived occurrences) of sound sources, people could hear more natural sounds and human sounds in 30min-3h than in the first 30min. This study emphasized the importance of soundscape function in the planning and designing of urban blue space.
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Long Term Ambient Sound Level Survey
Time: 3:20 pm
Author: Henk de Haan
Abstract ID: 2826
A 32 month long nighttime ambient sound level survey was conducted between from April 2017 and December 2019, inclusive. Sound level data was recorded at three locations within approximately 600 m of one another. Weather data was collected at one site. The measurement locations were at the edge of the city, where the suburbs make way for the countryside. Two noise monitoring stations were located near the back yards of detached houses. The third station was located in a more rural setting. This paper will look at trends in the nighttime ambient sound level (e.g. summertime vs wintertime), and try to establish the minimal duration of a measurement program for generating reliable results.
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The effects of aural and visual factors on appropriateness ratings of residential spaces in an urban city.
Time: 6:00 am
Author: Kay Ann Tan
Abstract ID: 3048
This study investigates the aural and visual factors that influence appropriateness perception in soundscape evaluations in residential spaces, where people may spend most of their time in. Appropriateness in soundscape is derived from the expectation of sound sources in a specific environment, place or function heard by a listener. Appropriateness of soundscapes in 30 locations in an urban residential environment is investigated with varying landscape, visual and aural elements through a questionnaire. Participants experienced the soundscape in-situ and were asked to evaluate the appropriateness of soundscape as well as the dominance of specific sound sources such as traffic, human activities and birdsongs in the residential space. The effect of type of traffic on appropriateness is also investigated. A strong relationship is found between appropriateness and affective soundscape qualities such as pleasantness, highlighting the importance of considering appropriateness in soundscape research. In audio-visual combination of specific elements and the partial correlation with appropriateness, specific aural sound sources are found to correlate uniquely to appropriateness while controlling for relevant visual elements, whereas visual elements became redundant in its partial correlation to appropriateness. Residents perception of appropriateness is found to likely be more dependent on the individual visual elements rather than the overall landscape. This study investigates the factors that influences appropriateness perceptual in soundscape evaluations in residential spaces, where people may spend most of their time in. Appropriateness in soundscape is derived from the expectation of sound sources in a specific environment, place or function and heard by a listener. The appropriateness of soundscapes of 30 locations in an urban residential environment is investigated with varying visual (greenery, building, waterbody) and aural elements through a questionnaire approach. Participants experienced the soundscape in-situ and were asked to evaluate the appropriateness of soundscape as well as the dominance of specific sound sources such as traffic, human activities and birdsongs in a residential space. The type of traffic is also investigated to explore the effect of traffic load on appropriateness.
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Psychoacoustic evaluation of soundscapes by means of repeated measurements
Time: 7:00 am
Author: Andre Fiebig
Abstract ID: 3118
Research on soundscape explore facets of how acoustic environments affect human perception in context. By means of psychoacoustic parameters the sound character of acoustic environments can be described comprehensively as those parameters play an important role with respect to manifold auditory sensations. Although there seems to be a consensus of the benefit of psychoacoustics for soundscape evaluations and the ISO/TS 12913-2 particularly requests to give consideration to psychoacoustic indicators in soundscape investigations rather little is known about the relationships between psychoacoustic quantities and significant soundscape dimensions. Numerous investigations aimed to establish links between psychoacoustics and soundscape appraisal, but the gained results were often not suited for generalization. Moreover, it is rather unclear how urban locations vary in their sound character over longer periods and how the level of variation drives soundscape assessments. In order to establish an understanding of potential psychoacoustic characterization of urban locations for soundscape evaluations, repeated measurements of different locations are analyzed and the general behavior of psychoacoustic quantities derived. Based on these investigations it is intended to expand knowledge on the usefulness of psychoacoustics from the perspective of the soundscape approach.
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