Title: Speech intelligibility mappings in a car compartment

Authors: E. Parizet

Addresses: RENAULT - Direction de la Recherche, 9-11, Avenue du 18 Juin 1940, 92500 Rueil-Malmaison, France

Abstract: Measurements of Articulation Index were made in a car cabin in order to determine the spatial variation of speech intelligibility. The resulting mappings are shown for two types of sound source: an omnidirectional loudspeaker and a loudspeaker whose directivity is the same as that of a human speaker. These measurements are compared to two models of sound field: a free field and a diffuse one. The conclusions are that, for an omnidirectional loudspeaker, the sound field in the compartment is almost perfectly free. For a human speaker, it is intermediate between those two models. Therefore, the car cabin can increase the intelligibility of speech, especially when emitted by the driver and listened to by the rear passengers.

Keywords: absorption; acoustics; articulation index; car cabin; loudspeakers; vehicle noise; rear passengers; spatial variation; speech intelligibility; speech transmission index; passengers talking.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.1993.061830

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 1993 Vol.14 No.2/3, pp.132 - 144

Published online: 28 May 2014 *

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