Influence of soundscape in the experience of an urban area: a case study in Rome

Over the last years several studies have demonstrated how the same environment can lead to different perceptual outcomes if the surrounding sounds change. Soundscape studies promote a user-centred approach for the characterization and management of acoustic environments in cities. There are several available protocols to gather perceptual data about how people experience the soundscapes in urban areas, and the most common tool is the “soundwalk”, a procedure where a group of people walks and stops at given locations in order to assess the acoustic environment, using some sound-related attributes (e.g., calm, pleasant, vibrant, chaotic, etc.). This research aims at evaluating the influence that different acoustic conditions together with specific environmental ones can induce on the pedestrians’ perception. In particular, the analysis was carried out within an artistically significant and culturally relevant urban district characterized by different traffic conditions, such as the archaeological area of the Colosseum in Rome. For this purpose, a soundwalk combined with a sound levels measurement campaign was organised in the archaeological area outside the Colosseum, during daytime and night time conditions, with a group of students applying the Method A of the ISO/TS 12913-2:2018, which addresses soundscape data collection. The results show how the correlations between the subjective responses and the measured data are significant and they can vary if the surrounding changes, both in terms of acoustical characteristics and environmental ones

Virtual reality simulation for un steady traffic flow analysis

According to literature, the analysis of traffic conditions and operating speeds are of main importance for road engineers. The traditional approach is based on observations and surveys on the road. Under this empirical view, traffic is studied in a specific road section according to the Eulerian analysis. Dynamic measurements of vehicles while driving are very difficult to be performed. On the basis of their experience in interactive driving simulation in virtual reality environment, the authors evaluate the possibility of studying, through simulation, the traffic unsteady flow under a Lagrangian approach. This new perspective becomes possible to be investigated because the simulation technologies are naturally more suitable for analyzing the variability of traffic, speeds, trajectories and dynamic conditions of vehicles along all the route. This paper shows the results of a large number of experiments intended to verify the feasibility and the significance of this new methodology for experimental analysis. The experiments have been carried out considering different traffic flows; for each condition, the kinematic and dynamic parameters, the position and lateral displacement of the vehicles and other parameters of a significant numbers of drivers have been processed. The conclusion of the study confirms the reliability of the method, moreover the simulation technology makes it possible to develop, under repeatible conditions, so many experiments that the statistical significance increases greatly rather than the traditional approach based on the real truth observations

Analysis of weaving maneuver’s critical issues using a driving simulator

It is well known that the weaving maneuver is one of the most difficult maneuvers to analyze in terms of road safety. Weaving sections provide a transition for vehicles from the right lane to the left lane and from the left lane to the right lane; in order to allow drivers to enter a road stretch or to exit out of it. Interchange segments are the most likely area where road accidents occur because of the complexity of the weaving maneuver. The complexity of this operation depends on drivers’ behavior and risk perception associated with the different phases that compose the maneuver: the intensity changing lanes, and braking and accelerating behaviors of a driver under different traffic flow conditions. Using an interactive driving simulator, this study proposes an analysis of drivers’ behavior on different weaving lanes in various traffic conditions. Three different lengths of weaving lane combined with four different traffic flow conditions were simulated and the different drivers’ performances have been analyzed. The objective of the research is to evaluate reliable indicators able to verify weaving maneuver's safety standards, in order to achieve more efficient design criteria. Several findings have shown that a driving simulator can ensure the reliability of measures and, it can also show the relationships between road geometrical characteristics and drivers’ behavior