Perceptually Motivated Measurement of Sound Width and Location

The MATLAB p-files included in this zip file are the software resulting from the EPSRC funded project 'Perceptually motivated measurement of spatial sound attributes for audio-based information systems' - reference number GR/R55528/01. This software will analyse a binaurally-recorded .wav file, and display predictions of the perceived angular width and direction of the sound, as they vary over time. More information about the project and the software is available from http://www.surrey.ac.uk/soundrec/PMMP/.

We are freely distributing this software so that others may benefit from it, and so that we can gain additional feedback on how well it works, so, please, if you use it, let us know what you're up to and how well it works for you.  The software is made available for non-commercial research and educational use only, so if you wish to use it commercially or for financial gain then please contact us first for permission.  Collaboration may be useful so that we can adapt the software to do exactly what you want.

The files are encoded p-files for use in MATLAB (created using Release 2006a). If you are interested in seeing how it works, and perhaps contributing to the work, then let us know using the email address below and we may be able to send you the source m-files.



Disclaimer

This software is still a work in progress. As such, no guarantees are given as to its accuracy or fitness for purpose. We cannot be held responsible for any errors, problems, or costs resulting from its use. 



Operation

The software works in MATLAB, so you'll need this, along with its Signal Processing Toolbox. Familiarity with MATLAB is assumed.

The file 'runanalysis_v0_90' undertakes the analysis of the binaural .wav file and saves the measured results as a .mat file. If you run 'runanalysis' from the MATLAB command line without any arguments, then it will ask you to identify the binaural .wav file and the information required to save the results.  Alternatively, you can add input and output file names as optional arguments - e.g. "runanalysis_v0_90('c:\matlabstuff\test.wav','c:\matlabstuff\test.mat');" - so that you can process a number of files as a batch.

The file 'runplot_v0_90' loads the analysis data created by 'runanalysis' and displays the results in an interactive plot. The interactive plot can be saved either as an image or as a data file for further processing and analysis in MATLAB. The file 'runanimation_v0_90' loads the data created by 'runanalysis' and saves the resulting animation as a .avi file, which can be replayed or edited using your favourite video player / editor. The animation is real-time, so it is possible to add the binaural audio file - we use the free Windows Movie Maker for this. More information about these output options is provided at http://www.surrey.ac.uk/soundrec/PMMP/dis.php. 

If you want any more information, send us an email. In fact send us an email anyway, so we can find out if the software's being used, how it's being used, and if it's doing what you want it to. Any comments we receive will go into further development of the software (depending on time and money!).

Cheers.

Russell Mason, Tim Brookes and Francis Rumsey
Institute of Sound Recording
University of Surrey
Guildford
Surrey
GU2 7XH
UK

www.surrey.ac.uk/soundrec

email: r.mason@surrey.ac.uk