Towards the evaluation of the measurement uncertainty of environmental acoustic noise

It is observed that the difference between a measurable value and a threshold does not involve a straightforward comparison of values, given that such measurement, which can only be an estimation, is expressed as an interval. Consequently, the value has to be considered to possess a clear degree of uncertainty. Such matters are highly relevant to the area of the measurement of relative levels of environmental noise, from the perspective of providing an adequate estimate of the indetermination associated with such measurements. Here it is necessary to account for the uncertainty that appears around particular noise events. The intention of the first phase of this study is to eliminate outliers that occur when measuring signals in real time using a statistical approach based on histograms. Then the second phase will determine the uncertainty associated with the measurement of 'purified' signals. © 2015 IEEE