Investigation of sound direction sense by effect of sound source height for voice evacuation guidance system in VR space

Abstract

We previously have been developed a voice evacuation guidance system using the precedence effect, which is a psychoacoustic effect. The system can be used to facilitate rapid evacuation to a safe area in environments with poor visibility, including those with smoke and dust, because it uses sound to guide evacuees. To apply this system to a building, it is necessary to construct a sound space suitable for the system. In particular, it adjusts sound in the field, including speaker position and sound pressure level setting. In the present study, we applied virtual reality (VR) technology in designing the system. If the basic design can be completed in the virtual space using VR technology, then the constructing time for the system can be substantially reduced because there is no need to experiment. In this report, we verified the sense of direction by adjusting the installation height of the sound source in the VR space. We confirmed that we could obtain the same level of evaluation characteristics for the precedence effect in both the real and virtual spaces.