1 research outputs found
Optimal model-based beamforming and independent steering for spherical loudspeaker arrays
Spherical loudspeaker arrays have been recently studied for directional sound
radiation, where the compact arrangement of the loudspeaker units around a
sphere facilitated the control of sound radiation in three-dimensional space.
Directivity of sound radiation, or beamforming, was achieved by driving each
loudspeaker unit independently, where the design of beamforming weights was
typically achieved by numerical optimization with reference to a given desired
beam pattern. This is in contrast to the methods already developed for
microphone arrays in general and spherical microphone arrays in particular,
where beamformer weights are designed to satisfy a wider range of objectives,
related to directivity, robustness, and side-lobe level, for example. This
paper presents the development of a physical-model-based, optimal beamforming
framework for spherical loudspeaker arrays, similar to the framework already
developed for spherical microphone arrays, facilitating efficient beamforming
in the spherical harmonics domain, with independent steering. In particular, it
is shown that from a beamforming perspective, the spherical loudspeaker array
is similar to the spherical microphone array with microphones arranged around a
rigid sphere. Experimental investigation validates the theoretical framework of
beamformer design