Visualization system for sound field using see-through head-mounted display

Abstract

For the visualization of a sound field, a widely used method is the superimposition of the sound information onto a camera view. Although it effectively enables the understanding the relationship between space and sound, a planar display cannot resolve depth information in a straightforward manner. In contrast, a see-through head-mounted display (STHMD) is capable of representing three-dimensional (3D) vision and natural augmented reality (AR) or mixed reality (MR). In this paper, we propose a system for the measurement and visualization of a sound field with an STHMD. We created two visualization systems using different types of STHMDs and technologies for realizing AR/MR and a measurement system for a 3D sound intensity map, which can be used together with the visualization system. Through three visualization experiments, we empirically found that the stereoscopic viewing and the convenient viewpoint movement associated with the STHMD enables understanding of the sound field in a short time.