Spatial Sound Rendering – A Survey

Eftychia Lakka,K. G. Pavlakis,J. A. Ware,Athanasios Malamos

doi:10.9781/ijimai.2018.06.001

Abstract

Simulating propagation of sound and audio rendering can improve the sense of realism and the immersion both in complex acoustic environments and dynamic virtual scenes. In studies of sound auralization, the focus has always been on room acoustics modeling, but most of the same methods are also applicable in the construction of virtual environments such as those developed to facilitate computer gaming, cognitive research, and simulated training scenarios. This paper is a review of state-of-the-art techniques that are based on acoustic principles that apply not only to real rooms but also in 3D virtual environments. The paper also highlights the need to expand the field of immersive sound in a web based browsing environment, because, despite the interest and many benefits, few developments seem to have taken place within this context. Moreover, the paper includes a list of the most effective algorithms used for modelling spatial sound propagation and reports their advantages and disadvantages. Finally, the paper emphasizes in the evaluation of these proposed works.

Highlights

THE last few years a growing interest in virtual environment technologies have been witnessed and their inclusion have been seen in a wide variety of different applications, including distance learning, the entertainment industry, architectural design, the production of art, various training scenarios, along with scientific and engineering research [1] [2]
Work documented in the relevant recent literature has focused on improving the realism and the sense of the immersivity within a Three Dimensional (3D) Virtual Environment (VE), taking into account the realistic visual rendering and the spatial sound propagation
Spatial auditory allows the user of VE to recognise the location of a sound source(s) [3], deduce information of the environment around the sound source(s) and, in general, to conceive the immersive environment in the same way as the listener recognizes the sound in the real world

Summary

Introduction

THE last few years a growing interest in virtual environment technologies have been witnessed and their inclusion have been seen in a wide variety of different applications, including distance learning (e.g. serious gaming), the entertainment industry (e.g. online games, live events), architectural design, the production of art, various training scenarios, along with scientific and engineering research [1] [2]. Spatial sound rendering in a VE goes far beyond traditional stereo and surround sound techniques, through the estimation of physical attributes, which are involved in sound propagation. Refraction is the change in the propagation direction of waves when they cross obliquely the boundary between two mediums where their speed is different This phenomenon should be considered for a realistic sound simulation. For transmission of a plane sound wave from air into another medium, the refraction index in (1) is used, for calculating the geometric conditions [8]

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion