Hardness Perception Based on Dynamic Stiffness in Tapping

A human can judge the hardness of an object based on the damped natural vibration caused by tapping the surface of the object using a fingertip. In this study, we investigated the influence of the dynamic characteristics of vibrations on the hardness perceived by tapping. Subjectively reported hardness values were related to the dynamic stiffness of several objects. The dynamic stiffness, which characterizes the impulsive response of an object, was acquired across the 40–1,000 Hz frequency range for cuboids of 14 types of materials by administering a hammering test. We performed two psychophysical experiments—a ranking task and a magnitude-estimation tasks—wherein participants rated the perceived hardness of each block by tapping it with a finger. We found that the perceptual effect of dynamic stiffness depends on the frequency. Its effect displayed a peak around 300 Hz and decreased or disappeared at higher frequencies, at which human perceptual capabilities are limited. The acquired results help design hardness experienced by products

ヒトの高周波振動知覚の類似特性に基づく触覚変調

Tohoku University昆陽雅司課

A synthesis model with intuitive control capabilities for rolling sounds

International audienceThis paper presents a physically inspired source-filter model for rolling sound synthesis. The model, which is suitable for real-time implementation, is based on qualitative and quantitative observations obtained from a physics-based model described in the literature. In the first part of the paper, the physics-based model is presented, followed by a perceptual experiment, whose aim is to identify the perceptually relevant information characterizing the rolling interaction. On the basis of this experiment, we hypothesize that the particular pattern of the interaction force is responsible for the perception of a rolling object. A complete analysis-synthesis scheme of this interaction force is then provided, along with a description of the calibration of the proposed source-filter sound synthesis process. Finally, a mapping strategy for intuitive control of the proposed synthesis process (i.e. size and velocity of the rolling object and roughness of the surface) is proposed and validated by a listening test

Haptics: Science, Technology, Applications

This open access book constitutes the proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Human Haptic Sensing and Touch Enabled Computer Applications, EuroHaptics 2022, held in Hamburg, Germany, in May 2022. The 36 regular papers included in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 129 submissions. They were organized in topical sections as follows: haptic science; haptic technology; and haptic applications

Perceptions of the Stuart & Sons Piano Sound: Realising a creative, active vision

This research examines the position of the Stuart & Sons piano in the three hundred year evolution of piano design. It demonstrates how the Stuart piano design is indicative of the technology of its period, the music of its period, and the place of its development. This thesis argues that the Stuart & Sons piano design implementations of the bridge agraffe and the expansion of its frequency ranges demonstrate that the new Australian instrument is of its time and place. Its use of 21st century technological advancements in steel wire drawing and its production of a distinctively new sound aesthetic which appeals to Australian contemporary music composition are indicative of a piano design of this period. The experimental ideas of the 19th century piano designers Henri Pape, John Broadwood and Sebastian Erard have been taken up by Stuart to expand the piano’s frequency range to the widest in the history of the piano, from 16Hz to 5587.65 Hz with a proposed extension of 6 higher notes to 7901.72 Hz. This proposed extension achieves a 108 note keyboard compass and eight full octaves for each pitch of the chromatic scale. The thesis examines Wayne Stuart’s claims that today’s modern piano design, standardized in the late 19th century, represents a pause in the evolution of piano design that has not adapted to the changes in musical style and technology of the 20th century, whereas the Stuart design supports the vertical emphasis in sound production implemented by the impressionist, contemporary & electronic music composers of the 20th century. This research compares the sound of the modern piano with the Stuart piano sound to demonstrate the differences of the Stuart’s vertically enhanced harmonic characteristics and its increased capacity to project a comprehensive tonal spectrum over a longer distance. How audiences decipher the differences found by this research, in the sounds of the Stuart and modern pianos is tested in a series of audience-survey concerts. Verbal attributes used to describe piano sound quality are complied into glossaries and used in survey questions. Australian aspects of the Stuart piano are described and associated with the oblique connection that exits between contemporary Australian music composition and Australian Aboriginal art forms. Compositions for the Stuart piano are devised from perceptions of the Stuart piano sound established by this research. The compositions reflect social aspects of Australian society and enable a musical activity and response to the urgent need for cross-cultural collaborations in the arts-education sector between Indigenous and non-Indigenous systems of education

Perceptual Organization

Perceiving the world of real objects seems so easy that it is difficult to grasp just how complicated it is. Not only do we need to construct the objects quickly, the objects keep changing even though we think of them as having a consistent, independent existence (Feldman, 2003). Yet, we usually get it right, there are few failures. We can perceive a tree in a blinding snowstorm, a deer bounding across a tree line, dodge a snowball, catch a baseball, detect the crack of a branch breaking in a strong windstorm amidst the rustling of trees, predict the sounds of a dripping faucet, or track a street musician strolling down the road