7,354 research outputs found
Sound for Fantasy and Freedom
Sound is an integral part of our everyday lives. Sound tells us about physical events in the environ- ment, and we use our voices to share ideas and emotions through sound. When navigating the world on a day-to-day basis, most of us use a balanced mix of stimuli from our eyes, ears and other senses to get along. We do this totally naturally and without effort. In the design of computer game experiences, traditionally, most attention has been given to vision rather than the balanced mix of stimuli from our eyes, ears and other senses most of us use to navigate the world on a day to day basis. The risk is that this emphasis neglects types of interaction with the game needed to create an immersive experience. This chapter summarizes the relationship between sound properties, GameFlow and immersive experience and discusses two projects in which Interactive Institute, Sonic Studio has balanced perceptual stimuli and game mechanics to inspire and create new game concepts that liberate users and their imagination
Virtual Audio - Three-Dimensional Audio in Virtual Environments
Three-dimensional interactive audio has a variety ofpotential uses in human-machine interfaces. After lagging seriously
behind the visual components, the importance of sound is now becoming
increas-ingly accepted.
This paper mainly discusses background and techniques to implement
three-dimensional audio in computer interfaces. A case study of a
system for three-dimensional audio, implemented by the author, is
described in great detail. The audio system was moreover integrated
with a virtual reality system and conclusions on user tests and use
of the audio system is presented along with proposals for future work
at the end of the paper.
The thesis begins with a definition of three-dimensional audio and a
survey on the human auditory system to give the reader the needed
knowledge of what three-dimensional audio is and how human auditory
perception works
Effect of Vertical Microphone Layer Spacing for a 3D Microphone Array
Subjective listening tests were conducted to investigate how the spacing between main (lower) and height (upper) microphone layers in a 3D main microphone array affects perceived spatial impression and overall preference. Four different layer spacings of 0m, 0.5m, 1m, and 1.5m were compared for the sound sources of trumpet, acoustic guitar, percussion quartet, and string quartet using a nine-channel loudspeaker setup. It was generally found that there was no significant difference between any of the spaced layer configurations, whereas the 0m layer had slightly higher ratings than the more spaced layers in both spatial impression and preference. Acoustical properties of the original microphone channel signals as well as those of the reproduced signals, which were binaurally recorded, were analyzed in order to find possible physical causes for the perceived results. It is suggested that the perceived results were mainly associated with vertical interchannel crosstalk in the signals of each height layer and the magnitude and pattern of spectral change at the listener’s ear caused by each layer
Interacting with Acoustic Simulation and Fabrication
Incorporating accurate physics-based simulation into interactive design tools
is challenging. However, adding the physics accurately becomes crucial to
several emerging technologies. For example, in virtual/augmented reality
(VR/AR) videos, the faithful reproduction of surrounding audios is required to
bring the immersion to the next level. Similarly, as personal fabrication is
made possible with accessible 3D printers, more intuitive tools that respect
the physical constraints can help artists to prototype designs. One main hurdle
is the sheer amount of computation complexity to accurately reproduce the
real-world phenomena through physics-based simulation. In my thesis research, I
develop interactive tools that implement efficient physics-based simulation
algorithms for automatic optimization and intuitive user interaction.Comment: ACM UIST 2017 Doctoral Symposiu
Help I'm surrounded
A dimly lit auditorium, the smell of popcorn and hot-dogs accompanied by the sound of fizzy drinks slurped through straws; the lights dim and a hush of expectation descends, sound fades in from all around, drawing the audience into the illusion of another reality. This is the world of the cinema, but is it possible to recreate this cinematic surround sound experience in the home? In order to address this question it is necessary to understand what is meant by "cinematic" surround sound and to consider some of the challenges faced by those seeking to translate it to the home environment. This article examines these issues through an exploration of the development of surround sound in the cinema and its transference to the home and concludes with a tentative look towards possible future developments
A Laboratory Method for Assessing Audibility and Localization of Rotorcraft Fly-In Noise
The low frequency content of rotorcraft noise allows it to be heard over great distances. This factor contributes to the disruption of natural quiet in national parks and wilderness areas, and can lead to annoyance in populated areas. Further, it can result in the sound being heard at greater distances compared to higher altitude fixed wing aircraft operations. Human response studies conducted in the field are challenging since test conditions are difficult to control. This paper presents a means of quantitatively determining the audibility and localization of rotorcraft fly-in noise, under a specified ambient noise condition, within a controlled laboratory environment. It is demonstrated using synthetic fly-in noise of a light utility helicopter. The method is shown to resolve differences in audibility distances due to different ground impedances, propagation modeling methods, and directivity angles. Further, it demonstrates the efficacy of an accelerated test method
Moving Sounds Enhance the Visually-Induced Self-Motion Illusion (Circular Vection) in Virtual Reality
While rotating visual and auditory stimuli have long been known to elicit self-motion illusions (“circular vection”), audiovisual interactions have hardly been investigated. Here, two experiments investigated whether visually induced circular vection can be enhanced by concurrently rotating auditory cues that match visual landmarks (e.g., a fountain sound). Participants sat behind a curved projection screen displaying rotating panoramic renderings of a market place. Apart from a no-sound condition, headphone-based auditory stimuli consisted of mono sound, ambient sound, or low-/high-spatial resolution auralizations using generic head-related transfer functions (HRTFs). While merely adding nonrotating (mono or ambient) sound showed no effects, moving sound stimuli facilitated both vection and presence in the virtual environment. This spatialization benefit was maximal for a medium (20 degrees × 15 degrees) FOV, reduced for a larger (54 degrees × 45 degrees) FOV and unexpectedly absent for the smallest (10 degrees × 7.5 degrees) FOV. Increasing auralization spatial fidelity (from low, comparable to five-channel home theatre systems, to high, 5 degree resolution) provided no further benefit, suggesting a ceiling effect. In conclusion, both self-motion perception and presence can benefit from adding moving auditory stimuli. This has important implications both for multimodal cue integration theories and the applied challenge of building affordable yet effective motion simulators
Experimental Analysis of Spatial Sound for Storytelling in Virtual Reality
Spatial sound is useful in enhancing immersion and presence of the user in a virtual world. This audio design allows the game designer to place audio cues that appropriately match with the visual cues in a virtual game environment. These localized audio cues placed in a story based game environment also help to evoke an emotional response from the user and construct the narrative of the game by capturing the user’s attention towards the guiding action events in the game. Our thesis explores the usefulness of spatial sound for improving the performance and experience of a user in a virtual game environment. Additionally, with the help of the relevant subjective and objective inferences collected from a user study conducted on three different evaluation models, the thesis also analyzes and establishes the potential of spatial sound as a powerful storytelling tool in a virtual game environment designed for Virtual Reality
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