The human being, because of his complex audition system, has the ability to identify the spatial position of any sound from the surrounding environment. The objective of this work is to develop a measurement system that enables to mathematically model the hearing system by using a set of transfer functions. These equations, called head related transfer function (HRTF), synthesize mathematically the binaural transformation that the listener produces (principally from the torso, the head, and the pinna) in the audition process. To find the HRTF, the measurement system uses an acoustic dummy called head and torso simulator. With two microphones located in their ears, this dummy captures the sound with the same binaural properties as a real listener. The mathematical process to obtain these transfer functions is based on the LTI systems theory, using as excitation signal the sine sweep. Matlab was chosen for the processing environment, taking advantage of its flexibility on the digital sign process and their powerful computational tools.

It is well known that as the number of people living in an urban core increases, the consumption and production of goods and services and, proportionally, the waste generated, including noise as a common pollutant, increases. At the beginning, it might seem that noise pollution is associated with the high level of life in developed countries, but reality shows that exposure to noise in developing countries is not less, because the lack of demand in the quality of the buildings and a suitable framework of the law bring as a consequence that millions of people have no guaranteed good sound quality in their environment and suffer adverse effects on their health. Several decades before many institutions in our country conducted research works, provided services to the community, and participated in the development of standards and laws to prevent and correct noise pollution. But while the authorities of some countries have taken full awareness of the necessity to ensure the acoustic comfort of the people, in Argentina we still have much to do.

In Argentina, the teaching of acoustics is included in the curricula of several academic institutions, being a part of the technical instruction received both in undergraduate and graduate majors. Acoustics is part of numerous college and technical careers, several of which will be detailed during this presentation. At the same time, a large number of post graduate and extension training classes are offered by the same and other institutions. It is only fair to mention that the Engineering School of the Buenos Aires University was the pioneer in teaching this discipline in Argentina, when Electroacoustics started to be taught in 1956 as a mandatory subject in the formerly joint Electronics Engineering plan, thus enabling the formation of the Acoustic and Electroacoustic Laboratory of the Faculty, a laboratory that still exists. Shortly after, in October 1961, the Acoustic and Lighting Research Center was founded in the Architecture and Urbanism School at the Cordoba National University. The extensive growth and ramifications we have seen so far make the list unavoidably incomplete, since the present possibilities of learning this science in the country is too large to be exposed, allowing us a reduced mention and a brief exposure.

As cities grow bigger, traffic noise gets worse. In order to help in the determination of noisy areas, the LACEAC prepared a measurement protocol to aid in this task. This protocol is the base for a recommendation to the cities’ governments. To put together this protocol, the LACEAC has analyzed different legislation together with measurements taken in several pilot areas of the city of Buenos Aires and determined the best approach based on the cultural habits of the city inhabitants. This protocol thus recommends the way that measurement locations should be determined, exposure time, the way to take the measurements, to study the results and to draw the noise maps.

To elaborate noise maps, national and international directives indicate that urban noise measurements must be carried out 4 m high, so as to obtain the map by the method of direct measurements, or for the calibration of mathematical models that predict sound levels. As a continuation of research plans to be carried out in the Acoustic and Lighting Laboratory of the Commission of Scientific Research, Province of Buenos Aires (LAL—CIC), and in the Acoustic and Electroacoustic Laboratory, Engineering Faculty of the University of Buenos Aires (LACEAC—FI UBA), and in order to estimate the error that will be committed using the prediction method rather than the direct measuring method, urban noise measurements were taken in surrounding areas in a quick access to La Plata City, at different heights and different distances from the sound source.