Auditory-proprioceptive interaction—How do acceleration forces influence the evaluation of driving sounds?

Abstract

One fundamental requirement for a widespread use of electric powered vehicles is a high degree of social acceptance of alternative drive concepts. As part of this, perception and evaluation of comfort and quality in a vehicle become increasingly important. The customers' judgment on these factors is strongly influenced by the noise and vibration behavior of the vehicle and always is passed in the context of multiple sensory impressions which are processed in the human brain consciously and unconsciously. The interaction mechanisms of sensory perception are highly complex and raise several scientific questions. During the past years, valuable insights about the interaction of visual and auditory perception have been obtained and there are also a number of theories about the auditory-tactile interaction. In contrast, the connection between auditory and proprioceptive perception remains largely unexplored. This paper deals with the question how acceleration forces influence human auditory perception. In order to make evident possible crossmodal effects, a listening experiment was conducted in different kinds of driving simulators. The results of this study will be presented and discussed.