title: Perceptually motivated time-frequency analysis.
abstract: This paper describes the design of a bilinear time-frequency distribution which is a joint model of temporal and spectral masking. The distribution is used to generate temporally evolving excitation patterns of nonstationary signals and systems and is conceived as a tool for acousticians and engineers for perceptual time-frequency analysis. Distribution time and frequency resolutions are controlled by a separable kernel consisting of a set of low-pass time and frequency smoothing windows. These windows are designed by adapting existing psychoacoustic models of auditory resolution, rather than using mathematical window functions. Cross-term interference and windowing clutter are highly suppressed for the distribution, ensuring resolution accuracy over a dynamic range sufficient to encompass that of the auditory system (in excess of 100 dB). Application to the analysis of a synthetic and two real signals are included to demonstrate the approach.
authors.affiliation: Music and Media Technologies, Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. jodonova@tcd.ie
authors.forename: Jonathan J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: O'Donovan
authors.forename: Dermot J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Furlong
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001307:Auditory Perception; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D011571:Psychoacoustics; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D013997:Time Factors