A novel sound localization experiment for mobile audio augmented reality applications

Abstract

This paper describes a subjective experiment in progress to study human sound localization using mobile audio augmented reality systems. The experiment also serves to validate a new methodology for studying sound localization where the subject is outdoors and freely mobile, experiencing virtual sound objects corresponding to real visual objects. Subjects indicate the perceived location of a static virtual sound source presented on headphones, by walking to a position where the auditory image coincides with a real visual object. This novel response method accounts for multimodal perception and interaction via self-motion, both ignored by traditional sound localization experiments performed indoors with a seated subject, using minimal visual stimuli. Results for six subjects give a mean localization error of approximately thirteen degrees; significantly lower error for discrete binaural rendering than for ambisonic rendering, and insignificant variation to filter lengths of 64, 128 and 200 samples. © 2006 Springer-Verlag Berlin/Heidelberg.