Computer graphics for acoustic simulation and visualization

Abstract

Computer simulation can be used to generate the spatial and temporal data describing acoustical behavior. By using computer graphics to display the multidimensional data, substantially greater amounts of information than conveyed by standard techniques can be communicated to the designer. A methodology is presented for evaluating an acoustical environment using a two phase approach. The first phase entails simulating the time varying spatial distribution of sound energy, using techniques similar to those used in computer graphics to model illumination. These techniques, specifically probabilistic geometric ray tracing and reflection modeling, have been highly refined. By modifying these methods to account for a few basic differences between light and sound, they can be well suited to the simulation of sound propagation. The second phase entails an investigation of techniques of displaying multidimensional data that are useful to the user. These techniques, which include the use of three-dimensional color image generation, animation, and icon representation, are used to visualize acoustical measurements derived from the simulation data. Using these criteria, three variations in the design of a performance hall are evaluated and compared. [Work supported by NSF.]