A physics-based approach to the presentation of acoustic depth

Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD), Boston, MA, July 7-9, 2003.A virtual listening environment providing localization cues is proposed for the reproduction of acoustic depth. By simulating the propagation of acoustic waves inside a tube it allows to change the source/listening point positions interactively, in a way that listeners experience various spatial configurations depending on the source/listener mutual position, and, correspondingly, perceive different auditory cues of depth. The quantitative relationship existing between physical and auditory distance assessments suggests to represent the tube using a model which allows direct control of the depth parameter. Simulations and experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the model and its relative robustness in applications contexts where state of the art equipment and ideal listening conditions cannot be guaranteed