Effect of noise and reverberation on sound localization of acoustic guide signal for visually impaired persons in public spaces

摘要

The role of acoustic guide signals is to lead users to destination points and is able to be achieved when a signal can be localized supposed point. However, there is little scientific evidence that acoustical guide signals, those are currently used in Japan, can play their role. This study intends to evaluate sound localization performance of typical acoustical guide signals under noisy conditions and reverberant sound field. Results of listening tests suggest that 1. effect of noise on sound localization can be presented as a function of signal-to-noise ratio, 2. initial delay time and reverberation energy are more important than reverberation time, 3. temporal pattern of guide signal is important factor for sound localization in reverberation.