Human Research and Engineering Directorate Research Areas

Sound Quality Assessment

Advisor: TR Letowski

Key words: psychoacoustics, acoustic measurements, acoustics

Sound quality affects human work, communication, and entertainment. High-quality acoustic environments facilitate better human performance, reduce tiredness, motivate people, and enhance human concentration.

When a certain level of sound is needed for monitoring the operation of a system or device, a change in sound quality is frequently more appropriate for reducing auditory annoyance than a reduction in sound level. Thus, various assessments of sound quality are conducted within the automobile, electronic, communication, and entertainment industries.

The research in this area involves development of sound quality assessment methods, development of jury testing strategies, development of sound quality criteria and sound quality metrics, and optimization of acoustic environments. This research opportunity may involve development, assessment, and optimization of sound sources or acoustic environments for military, industrial, and entertainment applications.