In the speech sounds we hear every day, there is a lack of a one-to-one correlation between the acoustic signal our brains receive and the way we think of sounds. This is called the lack of invariance problem.

Categorical perception is the process by which the human brain resolves the lack of invariance problem, allowing us to map the diverse acoustic signals received onto meaningful units. This then enables us to discriminate between the various acoustic signals we receive and understand them as speech.

The experiments in this application are designed to show how categorical perception enables us to discriminate between sounds. Choose an experiment from the homepage and press start to begin.

For more information regarding the technologies used to build this experiment portal check out the credits page.