Randomized psychoacoustic model for mobile, panoramic, heritage-viewing applications

Abstract

In preservation of heritage, lately there has been a phenomenal growth in digital audio preservation. A well-preserved virtual heritage does not include only the visual images of the heritage sites, but should ideally include also the audio surroundings of the heritage site that are incorporated into the virtual heritage applications as a whole. An acoustical heritage comprises the audio elements which surround the heritage sites. Psychoacoustic heritage is the extra significant psychological audio characteristic that adds to the surroundings of the heritage sites.In this paper, a randomized psychoacoustic model is proposed in 360° panoramic view on mobile platform. User interaction using multi-gesture tap is vital in delivering the psychoacoustic effects to the user. The contribution and the novelty of this research is in proposing and deploying a new psychoacoustic model mainly for the environment of 360° panoramic view in virtual heritage. In the proposed model, audio interaction design includes the changes in acoustical characteristics such as amplitude, frequency as well as the velocity within the various balanced panorama's azimuthal zones. Simulations have been carried out on a model of the Town Hall, one of the UNESCO heritage sites in George Town, Penang, Malaysia. The experimental data sets are also collected and have been found to produce promising psychoacoustic effects in panoramic view.