Signal & Image Processing : An International Journal

This paper presents a new method on the use of the gammachirp auditory filter based on a continuous wavelet analysis. The gammachirp auditory filter is designed to provide a spectrum reflecting the spectral properties of the cochlea, which is responsible for frequency analysis in the human auditory system. The impulse response of the theoretical gammachirp auditory filter that has been developed by Irino and Patterson can be used as the kernel for wavelet transform which approximates the frequency response of the cochlea. This study implements the gammachirp auditory filter described by Irino as an analytical wavelet and examines its application to a different speech signals. The obtained results will be compared with those obtained by two other predefined wavelet families that are Morlet and Mexican Hat. The results show that the gammachirp wavelet family gives results that are comparable to ones obtained by Morlet and Mexican Hat wavelet family.