Does ambient sound enhance outdoor auralization? (en)
* Presenting author
Abstract:
Outdoor spaces are subject to a continuous change of environmental conditions and variability of possible scenes. In order to conduct sensory evaluation experiments under reproducible conditions, it has been proposed to use virtual models. This allows to include fully synthesized sound sources as well as simulated transfer paths between source and receiver, both rendered in real-time or pre-rendered. Nevertheless, auralizations oftentimes provide a sterile impression and audible implausibility.This contribution investigates how background or ambient sound enhances the plausibility of auralized outdoor scenes. The simulated impulse responses (IRs) of are computed using geometrical acoustics and can be compared to measured IRs obtained by sweep measurements. Due to their complexity, ambient sounds are typically not simulated. Instead, spherical microphone array recordings can be used to capture those stimuli. In a hybrid approach, they can be used to enhance the simulated signals in virtual scenes.