Intensity Perception for Complex Vertical Whole-Body Vibration

Whole-body vibrations are an integral part of daily life experience. A thorough understanding of human vibration perception is necessary, e.g., for both the design of multi-modal virtual environments as well as the evaluation of comfort in the automotive industry. In this study, intensity perception for whole-body vibrations near threshold has been measured using amplitude modulated signals as well as narrow band noises. Stevens’ exponents have been calculated showing a significant dependence on frequency between 31.5 Hz and 125 Hz with higher frequencies leading to lower Stevens’ exponents. Amplitude modulation does not have an effect on intensity perception. The use of narrow band noise leads to bigger differences among Stevens’ exponents compared to those of sinusoidal signals. It is concluded that perceptual data from experiments with sinusoidal signals can be used to model the intensity perception of modulated signals, but adjustments have to be made for noisy signals.