Papers by René Van Egmond
Product Sound Design: An Inter-Disciplinary Approach?
Designing User Interfaces for Partially Automated Vehicles: Effects of Information and Modality on Trust and Acceptance
The concept of stability and expectation in tonal music
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 1997
There are two important aspects when listening to Western tonal music: the recognition of structu... more There are two important aspects when listening to Western tonal music: the recognition of structures and the way expectations in music are evoked. Although these two aspects are not independent it can be argued that the first aspect relates to the listener’s sense of coherence in a piece, whereas the second aspect relates to the listener’s sense of a dynamic flow. Both aspects are dependent on the underlying feature of tonality, which has its fundamentals in the acoustical properties of sounds (overtone series) and the set theoretical properties of ‘‘musical scales.’’ The primary focus will be on the expectations of listeners given a certain key (i.e., tonal expectations). In literature it is assumed that these expectations rely on the ‘‘mental stability’’ associated with tones in a certain key (represented by the so-called tonal hierarchy). It is often argued that the difference in stability relates to a tonal expectation for a listener. Problems with this approach are discussed, c...
Medical Imaging 2022: Image Processing
Deep learning models for organ contouring in radiotherapy are poised for clinical usage, but curr... more Deep learning models for organ contouring in radiotherapy are poised for clinical usage, but currently, there exist few tools for automated quality assessment (QA) of the predicted contours. Bayesian models and their associated uncertainty, can potentially automate the process of detecting inaccurate predictions. We investigate two Bayesian models for auto-contouring, DropOut and FlipOut, using a quantitative measure-expected calibration error (ECE) and a qualitative measure-region-based accuracy-vs-uncertainty (R-AvU) graphs. It is well understood that a model should have low ECE to be considered trustworthy. However, in a QA context, a model should also have high uncertainty in inaccurate regions and low uncertainty in accurate regions. Such behaviour could direct visual attention of expert users to potentially inaccurate regions, leading to a speed-up in the QA process. Using R-AvU graphs, we qualitatively compare the behaviour of different models in accurate and inaccurate regions. Experiments are conducted on the MICCAI2015 Head and Neck Segmentation Challenge and on the DeepMindTCIA CT dataset using three models: DropOut-DICE, Dropout-CE (Cross Entropy) and FlipOut-CE. Quantitative results show that DropOut-DICE has the highest ECE, while Dropout-CE and FlipOut-CE have the lowest ECE. To better understand the difference between DropOut-CE and FlipOut-CE, we use the R-AvU graph which shows that FlipOut-CE has better uncertainty coverage in inaccurate regions than DropOut-CE. Such a combination of quantitative and qualitative metrics explores a new approach that helps to select which model can be deployed as a QA tool in clinical settings.
The interplay between material qualities and lighting
Journal of Vision, 2017
In the processing of sound two main stages can be discerned. In the first stage the sound is proc... more In the processing of sound two main stages can be discerned. In the first stage the sound is processed by the inner ear and certain perceptual attributes (loudness, roughness) result. In the second stage the sound is described and structured with knowledge present in long term memory. In emotion research a distinction is often made between basic emotions (e.g., pain, pleasure) and cognitive emotions (e.g., indignation, desire). In a theoretical framework it is hypothesized that the basic emotions are more related to the perceptual attributes that result from the sound processing by the inner ear, whereas the cognitive emotions are more related to the attributes that result from higher level processing in the brain. In a study, people had to rate emotion words (basic and cognitive) on a 10-point scale after hearing a sound. The sounds were everyday sounds and synthesized sounds. In addition to the rating the reaction time of a participant was measured. The latter measurement should e...
Sound designers often encounter problems in communicating a newly developed sound concept to othe... more Sound designers often encounter problems in communicating a newly developed sound concept to other designers, researchers, engineers, and marketeers. To support the communication of product sounds, a pictographic language has been designed to describe product sound events in such a way that it relates the physical properties of sounds to its perceptual properties. This new pictographic language will be presented and it will also be discussed how it facilitates the communication of a product sound.
Designing an Emotional Experience for Product Sounds
A method is presented to analyze and determine the relevant features of product sounds. Although ... more A method is presented to analyze and determine the relevant features of product sounds. Although the method is still under development it has been successfully applied in sound design projects for industry (Philips, Procter and Gamble) and in student projects (some in collaboration with industry). In this presentation, I will discuss the problems that one encounters in the design of product sounds and how these sounds can be analyzed. In addition, examples will be shown in which sounds were effectively altered to evoke specific emotional experiences, associated meanings, and functional feedback.
Product Sound Design and Application: Overview
Designing sounds for products is a relatively new concept that still lacks a systematic procedure... more Designing sounds for products is a relatively new concept that still lacks a systematic procedure. Formerly, a pleasing sound would be realized by, e.g., decreasing the sound pressure level. The sound of a vacuum cleaner would be changed if it sounded unpleasantly loud. Nowadays it is acknowledged that product sound design should be integrated in the main design process to enhance the user experience both on ergonomic and hedonic levels. For example, the sound producing parts of an expensive car (i.e., engine, doors, gearbox, cabin auditory warnings, etc.) are designed to reflect the main requirements for the car design such as reliability, comfort, safety, luxury, and consequently a pleasant drive. However, an integration of the sound design into the design process of a product requires specific tools and methods. This paper addresses this issue and presents two methods and a tool by which designers can model and demonstrate their conceptual ideas for the sound of the product under...
Brand image and personality of a sonified website
Brand image, product- and brand- personality play an important role in the decision to buy a prod... more Brand image, product- and brand- personality play an important role in the decision to buy a product. Websites are one of the media a brand may use to communicate its image and personality. In comparison with visual imagery, the use of sound as a carrier of brand-identity, and -personality in websites is hardly used and research in this field is very limited. However, it has been shown that sound or music has a positive influence in conveying a brand in advertising. In two experiments the role of sound in conveying a brand and product personality on a website was investigated. Three versions of a website (no sound, sound congruent with the website, sound not congruent with the website) were designed, while keeping the visual imagery equal. These sites were evaluated on their brand personality using a between subject design. In Experiment 1, the evoked brand personality of the websites was investigated using a brand personality scale (Govers, 2004). Although the influence of sound wa...
Incorporating Brand Identity in the Design of Auditory Displays
Foundations in Sound Design for Embedded Media, 2019
Human Vision and Electronic Imaging XV, 2010
In a previous study we investigated the roughness of real world textures taken from the CUReT dat... more In a previous study we investigated the roughness of real world textures taken from the CUReT database. We showed that people could systematically judge the subjective roughness of these textures. However, we did not determine which objective factors relate to these perceptual judgments of roughness. In the present study we take the first step in this direction using a subband decomposition of the CUReT textures. This subband decomposition is used to predict the subjective roughness judgments of the previous study. We also generated synthetic textures with uniformly distributed white noise of the same variance in each subband, and conducted a perceptual experiment to determine the perceived roughness of both the original and synthesized texture images. The participants were asked to rank-order the images based on the degree of perceived roughness. It was found that the synthesis method produces images that are similar in roughness to the original ones except for a small but systematic deviation.
Human Vision and Electronic Imaging XIV, 2009
In three experiments the perceived roughness of visual and of auditory materials was investigated... more In three experiments the perceived roughness of visual and of auditory materials was investigated. In Experiment 1, the roughness of frequency-modulated tones was determined using a paired-comparison paradigm. It was found that using this paradigm similar results in comparison to literature were found. In Experiment 2, the perceived visual roughness of textures drawn from the CUReT database was determined. It was found that participants could systematically judge the roughness of the textures. In Experiment 3 the perceived pleasantness for the textures used in Experiment 2 was determined. It was found that two groups of participants could be distinguished. One group found rough textures unpleasant and smooth textures pleasant. The other group found rough textures pleasant and smooth textures unpleasant. Although for the latter groups the relation between relative roughness and perceived pleasantness was less strong.
Advances in Industrial Design Engineering, 2013
Wood (parallel) ρ=0.5 kg/dm 3 4000 Lucite (Plexiglas) 2650 Polystyrene 2300 Rubber (soft) 50 Tabl... more Wood (parallel) ρ=0.5 kg/dm 3 4000 Lucite (Plexiglas) 2650 Polystyrene 2300 Rubber (soft) 50 Table 1. Propagation speed for a number of materials, liquid, and air (Verheij, 1992).
2011 IEEE 10th IVMSP Workshop: Perception and Visual Signal Analysis, 2011
In order to facilitate the development of objective texture similarity metrics and to evaluate th... more In order to facilitate the development of objective texture similarity metrics and to evaluate their performance, one needs a large texture database accurately labeled with perceived similarities between images. We propose ViSiProG, a new Visual Similarity by Progressive Grouping procedure for conducting subjective experiments that organizes a texture database into clusters of visually similar images. The grouping is based on visual blending, and greatly simplifies pairwise labeling. ViSiProG collects subjective data in an efficient and effective manner, so that a relatively large database of textures can be accommodated. Experimental results and comparisons with structural texture similarity metrics demonstrate both the effectiveness of the proposed subjective testing procedure and the performance of the metrics.
Diatonic Connotations of Pitch-Class Sets
Music Perception, 1997
This is a music-theoretical study of the relationship of two-, three-, four-, five-, and six-memb... more This is a music-theoretical study of the relationship of two-, three-, four-, five-, and six-member subsets of the major (pure minor), harmonic minor, and melodic (ascending) minor reference collections, using pitchclass set analytic techniques. These three collections will be referred to as the diatonic sets. Several new terms are introduced to facilitate the application of pitch-class set theory to descriptions of tonal pitch relations and to retain characteristic intervallic relationships in tonal music typically not found in discussions of atonal pitch-class relations. The description comprises three parts. First, pitch sets are converted to pitchclass sets. Second, the pitch- class sets are categorized by transpositional types. Third, the relations of these transpositional types are described in terms of their key center and modal references to the three diatonic sets. Further, it is suggested that the probability of a specific key interpretation by a listener may depend on the...
J. of Design Research, 2004
Compared to other parameters in product design, visually relevant shape parameters strongly deter... more Compared to other parameters in product design, visually relevant shape parameters strongly determine the success of a product in the market. Since designers are responsible for the visual appearance of the product, they tend to be critical in their decisions concerning the type and the values of the shape parameters. However, it is not fully understood how the relevant parameters types can be determined and what the effect of their variation is. In two experiments, shape parameters were manipulated and customers indicated their preferred setting using different experimental paradigms. These preference scores may be considered to represent the judgement of aesthetic quality by potential customers. The results clearly show that preference as function of shape parameters can be determined. A method for shape deformation, and suggestions concerning possible improvements and applications are reported. When a large group of respondents can be involved in the assessments, using a web based tool, the method can be effective in conceptual product shape design.
Acta Psychologica, 1996
The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived similarity between a melody and the ex... more The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived similarity between a melody and the exact and inexact transpositions of that melody. Exact transpositions, which preserve the interval structure of the original melody, were formed by manipulating the variables key-distance and pi tch-di stance. Inexact transpositions, having a different interval structure than the original melody, were created by altering one tone of the exact transpositions. Two types of alteration, retaining the contour of the original melody, were used: (1) a chromatic alteration of one tone fitting the key of the original melody; (2) a diatonic alteration of one tone fitting the key of the transposed melody. The coding model of Deutsch and Feroe (1981) was used as a qualitative predictor of the perceived similarity. The resulting predictions were tested using a paired-comparison paradigm. Results indicate that both pitch-distance and alteration explain a significant part of the variance, whereas key-distance does not contribute significantly. It was also found that exact transpositions are perceptually more similar to the original melody than inexact transpositions, and that chromatically altered transpositions are perceptually more similar to the original melody than diatonically altered transpositions. These results are broadly in accordance with the applied coding model.
Human Vision and Electronic Imaging XIX, 2014
Déconcentration is a policy aimed at reducing poverty by relocating residents of distressed publi... more Déconcentration is a policy aimed at reducing poverty by relocating residents of distressed public housing complexes into private mixed income neighborhoods. This change is presumed to offer new social opportunities and better public facilities that can facilitate improved economic status. HOPE VI is a federal U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program, which has effected this policy in a large
Audio-Visual Interactions in Product Sound Design
Consistent product experience requires congruity between product properties such as visual appear... more Consistent product experience requires congruity between product properties such as visual appearance and sound. Therefore, for designing appropriate product sounds by manipulating their spectral-temporal structure, product sounds should preferably not be considered in isolation but as an integral part of the main product concept. Because visual aspects of a product are considered to dominate the communication of the desired product concept, sound is usually expected to fit the visual character of a product. We argue that this can be accomplished successfully only on basis of a thorough understanding of the impact of audio-visual interactions on product sounds. Two experimental studies are reviewed to show audio-visual interactions on both perceptual and cognitive levels influencing the way people encode, recall, and attribute meaning to product sounds. Implications for sound design are discussed defying the natural tendency of product designers to analyze the “sound problem ” in is...
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Papers by René Van Egmond