Virtual sound source distance evaluation in acoustically and visually incongruent contexts

Abstract

Visual and acoustic environment may influence the perception of auditory distance. In the context of Audio-only augmented reality (AAR), the coherence of the perceived virtual sound sources with the apparent room geometry and acoustics cannot always be guaranteed. The perceptual consequences of these incoherences are not well known. We conducted two online perceptual studies with a sound distance rendering model based on measured spatial room impulse responses (SRIR). A first study evaluated the perceptual performances of the model in incongruent visual contexts. The incongruent environment-related visual cues (spatial visual boundary and room volume) demonstrated a significant effect on the auditory distance perception (ADP) of virtual sound sources, through a calibration effect. A second study evaluated the impact of acoustical incongruence. Virtual sound sources distances were judged after the participant listened to distracting sound sources conveying distance cues relative to a different acoustical environment. When this distracting sound sources corresponded to a larger room than the one reproduced by the model, a higher compression effect was observed on the ADP of virtual sound sources. However, when the intensity cue conveyed by the distracting sound sources were coherent with the acoustical environment simulated by the model, their distracting effect were negligible.