Reducing reversal errors in localizing the source of sound in virtual environment without head tracking

Abstract

This paper presents a study about the effect of using additional audio cueing and Head-Related Transfer Function (HRTF) on human performance in sound source localization task without using head movement. The existing techniques of sound spatialization generate reversal errors. We intend to reduce these errors by introducing sensory cues based on sound effects. We conducted and experimental study to evaluate the impact of additional cues in sound source localization task. The results showed the benefit of combining the additional cues and HRTF in terms of the localization accuracy and the reduction of reversal errors. This technique allows significant reduction of reversal errors compared to the use of the HRTF separately. For instance, this technique could be used to improve audio spatial alerting, spatial tracking and target detection in simulation applications when head movement is not included. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.