Classification of Engine Type of Vehicle Based on Audio Signal as a Source of Identification

Abstract

In this work, a combination of signal processing and machine learning techniques is applied for petrol and diesel engine identification based on engine sound. The research utilized real recordings acquired in car dealerships within Poland. The sound database recorded by the authors contains 80 various audio signals, equally divided. The study was conducted using feature engineering techniques based on frequency analysis for the generation of sound signal features. The discriminatory ability of feature vectors was evaluated using different machine learning techniques. In order to test the robustness of the proposed solution, the authors executed a number of system experimental tests, including different work conditions for the proposed system. The results show that the proposed approach produces a good accuracy at a level of 91.7%. The proposed system can support intelligent transportation systems through employing a sound signal as a medium carrying information on the type of car moving along a road. Such solutions can be implemented in the so-called ‘clean transport zones’, where only petrol-powered vehicles can freely move. Another potential application is to prevent misfuelling diesel to a petrol engine or petrol to a diesel engine. This kind of system can be implemented in petrol stations to recognize the vehicle based on the sound of the engine.