Sound propagation in 3D spaces using computer graphics techniques

Abstract

Sound propagation in 3D spaces is governed by similar physical principles as light. As a result, sound rendering in a 3D virtual environment can benefit from methods developed for graphics rendering and vice versa. In this review, we provide an overview of methods used for sound rendering that share concepts and techniques with graphics rendering. Firstly we describe geometrical propagation techniques where the computations are based on ray theory similar to ray tracing techniques in computer graphics. Secondly, we review numerical techniques. These techniques, similar to the idea of radiosity, are based on the subdivision of the space into elements. Then we describe acceleration techniques that can be used in combination with other methods to speed up calculations. Lastly, for the sake of completeness, a quick overview is given of sound computation techniques that simulate specific sound effects that do not apply on illumination. The aim of this survey is to share knowledge among the two disciplines using familiar and known concepts.

Overview of geometrical room acoustic modeling techniques

“…30 A literature review focused on computer graphics techniques applied to room acoustic modeling was published in 2014 by Charalampous and Michael. 31 …”

Spatial Sound Rendering – A Survey

“…This appears because the more distant a ray has traveled, the more sampling artifacts will occur. As a result, many rays are computed that will never reach the listener [7], [72].…”

“…During the algorithm firstly, polygons are detected, secondly, the original beam is clipped to delete the shadow region, thirdly, a transmission beam is constructed to match the shadow region, fourthly, a reflection beam is produced by mirroring the transmission beam over the polygon's plane, and finally conceivably other beams are created in order to model other types of scattering (see Fig. 4) [9], [72]. To review, there is a considerable amount of literature on this algorithm and especially if it is combined with another method of sound propagation.…”

“…As others have highlighted, beam tracing is currently considered to be the fastest commonly used geometric room acoustics modeling technique [72], [79], [82], [83]. This algorithm has advantages over both image source and ray tracing.…”

“…Finally, Charalampous and Michael in their review paper [72], underline that beam tracing transcends as a deterministic method, in comparison to ray tracing. At this point, it should be noted that deterministic method will produce the same results when run multiple times.…”