Abstract
The sensory perception of products influences the relationship of potential users or buyers with these products. Sound quality is part of this sensory experience and is critical for products such as sports or utility vehicles as the sound conveys the impression of power or efficiency, among others. Therefore, there is a need to provide tools based on scientific methodology to acoustical engineers designing such vehicles. The motivation of this work was the need to explore new and faster methods for quicker and simpler sound quality evaluation. In this paper, the sound quality of side-by-side utility vehicles is investigated using the rapid sensory profile measurement method, and then by creating virtual participants using bootstrapping methods. Additionally, this study also investigates the effect of loudness equalization of the sound samples used during the listening tests. Results from these studies were used to establish the sensory profiles, desire-to-buy values and desirable sound profiles regarding the tested vehicles. Equalized loudness tests provide a finer sensory profile than those obtained using non-equalized sound samples. Furthermore, statistical analysis results confirm that adding virtual participants to the original data using a bootstrapping approach helps highlighting key information without altering the validity of the results.
Highlights
The sounds of consumer products influence the general perception of these products
Current sound profiles of seven vehicles at three driving conditions and at two global loudness conditions were obtained from a subjective assessments of six perceptual attributes
A desired sound profile of a chosen reference vehicle was freely designed by participants
Summary
The sounds of consumer products influence the general perception of these products. This is important for vehicle interior sound and for vehicle manufacturers who wish to attach a positive impression to their products and to improve users satisfaction. In this vein, the field of sound quality has been expanding rapidly in the past decades [1]. The SSVs are four-wheel drive recreational vehicle of the utility type. They are called side-by-side because they usually have two seats beside each other. SSVs are designed to carry a driver and a passenger seated on his right and are equipped with a dump body, located at the rear of the passenger com-
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