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Nos últimos anos os avanços em áudio multicanal e sistemas envolventes despertaram um grande interesse pelas técnicas para a auralização de campos sonoros espaciais, capazes de recriar ambientações acústicas com grande realismo, envolvendo o ouvinte completamente. Um estudo sobre as tecnologias e soluções para áudio espacial mostrou que a construção de auralizadores envolve quatro blocos funcionais fundamentais. Mas, embora existam muitas técnicas e ferramentas disponíveis, não há uma arquitetura integradora para produção de áudio espacial que permita ao desenvolvedor selecionar as técnicas que deseja e montar uma solução com um grau de refinamento arbitrário que atenda a seus requisitos. Apresenta-se uma arquitetura modular aberta em quatro camadas para produção de áudio espacial em ambientes audiovisuais imersivos. Como estudo de caso, aborda-se a implementação de um auralizador Ambisonics para a CAVERNA Digital. Verifica-se que a auralização pode fornecer a correta perspectiva acústica do ambiente virtual necessária para uma percepção mais realista do espaço, e que a abordagem aberta para se implementar sistemas de áudio 2D/3D apresenta vantagens. Os resultados da implementação são apresentados e discutidos. Como conclusões, identificam-se desafios na implementação e os trabalhos futuros. / Recent advances in multichannel audio and surround systems have contributed to an increasing interest for spatial sound field auralization, capable of delivering acoustic ambience with great realism, and surrounding listener completely. A study on technologies and solutions for spatial sound has shown that building auralizators involve four major functional blocks, but, although there are many techniques and tools available, there is not an integration architecture for spatial audio production which permits developers to select their favorite techniques, and build a solution with an arbitrary refinement level, as wished. It is presented a four level modular open architecture for spatial audio production in immersive audiovisual environments. As a case study, an Ambisonics auralizator is implemented for the CAVERNA Digital CAVE. It is verified that auralization can deliver the correct acoustical perspective for the virtual environment necessary for a more realistic perception of space, and that an open approach presents advantages in 2D/3D audio systems design. Implementation results are presented and discussed. As conclusions, challenges and future works are presented.

Nos últimos anos os avanços em áudio multicanal e sistemas envolventes despertaram um grande interesse pelas técnicas para a auralização de campos sonoros espaciais, capazes de recriar ambientações acústicas com grande realismo, envolvendo o ouvinte completamente. Um estudo sobre as tecnologias e soluções para áudio espacial mostrou que a construção de auralizadores envolve quatro blocos funcionais fundamentais. Mas, embora existam muitas técnicas e ferramentas disponíveis, não há uma arquitetura integradora para produção de áudio espacial que permita ao desenvolvedor selecionar as técnicas que deseja e montar uma solução com um grau de refinamento arbitrário que atenda a seus requisitos. Apresenta-se uma arquitetura modular aberta em quatro camadas para produção de áudio espacial em ambientes audiovisuais imersivos. Como estudo de caso, aborda-se a implementação de um auralizador Ambisonics para a CAVERNA Digital. Verifica-se que a auralização pode fornecer a correta perspectiva acústica do ambiente virtual necessária para uma percepção mais realista do espaço, e que a abordagem aberta para se implementar sistemas de áudio 2D/3D apresenta vantagens. Os resultados da implementação são apresentados e discutidos. Como conclusões, identificam-se desafios na implementação e os trabalhos futuros. / Recent advances in multichannel audio and surround systems have contributed to an increasing interest for spatial sound field auralization, capable of delivering acoustic ambience with great realism, and surrounding listener completely. A study on technologies and solutions for spatial sound has shown that building auralizators involve four major functional blocks, but, although there are many techniques and tools available, there is not an integration architecture for spatial audio production which permits developers to select their favorite techniques, and build a solution with an arbitrary refinement level, as wished. It is presented a four level modular open architecture for spatial audio production in immersive audiovisual environments. As a case study, an Ambisonics auralizator is implemented for the CAVERNA Digital CAVE. It is verified that auralization can deliver the correct acoustical perspective for the virtual environment necessary for a more realistic perception of space, and that an open approach presents advantages in 2D/3D audio systems design. Implementation results are presented and discussed. As conclusions, challenges and future works are presented.

This thesis describes the development of the real-time convolution system (RTCS) for a little-studied talker/listener in virtual acoustic environments. We include descriptions of the high-resolution directivity measurements of human speech, the RTCS system components, the measurement and characterization of oral-binaural room impulse responses (OBRIRs) for a variety of acoustic environments, and the compensation filter necessary for its validity. In addition to incorporating the high-resolution directivity measurements, this RTCS improved on that developed by Cabrera et al. [1] through the derivation and inclusion of the compensation filter. Objective measures in the time- and frequency-domains, as well as subjective measures, were developed to asses the validity of the RTCS. The utility of the RTCS is demonstrated in the study on vocal effort, and the results of an initial investigation into the vocal effort data are presented.

This work deals with acoustics of rooms for sound post-production activities and their simulations, in order to reduce the need for acoustic room treatment and specialized monitoring equipment to a hardware unit and headphones - specifcally by creating hardware product for auralization of rooms impulse resp

This Master's Thesis deals with geometric modeling methods and theirs implementation in Octave (Matlab), which is ideal for the practical realization. The first part of the thesis is focused on a very simplified image source method, which is able to calculate and render the 2D impulse response of rectangular rooms. The next part is aimed on~the same method, but extended by three-dimensional simulation of polyhedral prism-shaped rooms. There is both an explanation of theoretical and mathematical aspects and a~documentation of the implemented source code. Extended image source method is able to generate sound representation of impulse response characteristics, and use it for auralization, which is achieved by using convolution of both the input sound source and the calculated impulse response. At the end there are two practical examples for both methods with explanatory illustrations.

Two separate methods are presented to aid in the creation and evaluation of acoustic simulations. The first is a hybrid method that allows separate low and high-frequency acoustic responses to be combined into a single broadband response suitable for auralization. The process consists of four steps: 1) creating separate low-frequency and high-frequency responses of the system of interest, 2) interpolating between the two responses to get a single broadband magnitude response, 3) adding amplitude modulation to the high-frequency portion of the response, and 4) calculating approximate phase information. An experimental setup is used to validate the hybrid method. Listening tests are conducted to assess the realism of simulated auralizations compared to measurements. The listening tests confirm that the method is able to produce realistic auralizations, subject to a few limitations. The second method presented is a machine learning approach for predicting human perceptions of audio fidelity and sound quality. Several algorithms are compared and various audio features considered in developing the machine learning models. The developed models accurately predict human perceptions of audio fidelity and sound quality in three distinct applications: assessing the fidelity of compressed audio, evaluating the fidelity of simulated audio, and comparing the sound quality of loudspeakers. The high accuracies achieved confirm that machine learning models could potentially supplant listening tests, significantly decreasing the time required to assess audio quality or fidelity.

Syftet med detta examensarbete har varit att ta fram en metod för att skapa lyssninsbart trafikbuller med datorn, så kallat auraliserat trafikbuller, att koppla till en bullerkarta. I kartan skulle det gå att lyssna på hur trafikbullret skulle låta för att ge en bättre uppfattning om vad ljudnivån och färgskalan i en traditionell bullerkartläggning betyder. Bullerkartläggningar kan annars vara svåra att förstå då de enbart beskriver ljudnivån och inte typen av trafikbuller eller hur störande det är. Metoden behövde vara snabberäknad och lätt att använda för att vara ett lättillgängligt komplement till traditionella bullerkartläggningar. Auraliseringen baserades på ljudinspelningar av en motorväg, landsväg och en stadsgata, och som bakgrundsljud användes en lokalgata, fågelsång och ett förklarande samtal. Med Trafikverkets uppdelning av vägnätet i funktionella klasser delades vägarna in i vägtyperna motorväg, landsväg och stadsgata, och avståndet mellan fasadpunkterna och vägtyperna beräknades med programvaran ArcGIS Pro. Från en traditionell bullerkartläggning som beräknats i SoundPLAN erhölls ljudnivån vid fasadpunkterna. Genom att dämpa trafikbullret från de olika vägtyperna med atmosfärsdämpning, som främst dämpade de höga frekvenserna vilket gjorde att bullret uppfattades som mer avlägset, och med geometrisk spridning som dämpade den totala ljudnivån,kunde en ljudmix skapas för varje fasadpunkt. I många fall behövdes ljudet dämpas ytterligare eftersom dämpningen på grund av exempelvis andra hus och bullerskyddsskärmar inte hade inkluderats, och detta gjordes genom att sänka den totala ljudnivån till beräknade ljudnivån i bullerkartläggningen. I lugna områden där enbart lokalgator fanns i närområdet återspeglade ljudnivån trafikbullret från lokalgatorna, och trafikbullret från de större vägarna riskerades att överskattas och ge en missvisande trafikljudmix. Detta korrigerades genom att addera en avståndsberoende extradämpning som adderades till motorvägen, landsvägen och stadsgatan.  Med en beräkningstid av 100 000 punkter på fem dagar är metoden tillräckligt snabb för att kunna användas vid bullerkartläggningar av även de största städerna i Sverige. Resultatet ger en uppfattning av hur det skulle låta på platsen, men låter inte exakt som i verkligheten. För att hålla komplexiteten nere beräknades auraliseringen med monoljud som sedan dubblerades till stereo. Den begränsas också av hur väl genomförd bullerkartläggningen är och inkluderar inte hur vädret påverkar trafikbullret. En noggrannare kalibrering av extradämpningen skulle behöva ske för att för en mer korrekt ljudmix i lugna bostadsområden. Metoden är anpassningsbar och fler trafikinspelningar går att addera till beräkningarna, väderparametrar kan justeras och med en anpassad bullerkartläggning går det att erhålla mer korrekta auraliseringar. / The aim of this project has been to develop a method for making audible traffic noise with the computer (auralization of traffic noise) to upload to a noise map. In the noise map, it would be possible to listen to how the traffic noise would sound like to give a better idea of what the sound level and color scale in a traditional noise survey means. Noise surveys can otherwise be difficult to understand as they only describe the noise level and not the type of traffic noise or how disturbing it would be. This method needed to be fast and easy to use to be an easily accessible complement to traditional noise maps. The auralization was based on sound recordings of a highway, country road and a city street, and as background sounds a local street, birdsong and an explanatory conversation were used. With the Swedish Transport Administration's classification of the road network into functional classes, the roads were divided into the road types motorway, country road and city street, and the distance between the facade points and road types was calculated with the ArcGIS Pro software. From a traditional noise map calculated in SoundPLAN, the sound level at the facade points was obtained.By attenuating the traffic noise from the different road types with atmospheric attenuation, which mainly attenuated the high frequencies and made the noise perceived as more remote, and with geometric scattering that attenuated the overall noise level, a sound mix could be created for each facade point. In many cases, the sound needed to be attenuated further because the attenuation due to, for example, other houses and noise protection screens had not been included, and this was done by lowering the total noise level to the calculated noise level of the noise mapping. In quiet areas where only local streets were in the close surrounding, the noise level reflected the traffic noise from the local streets, and the traffic noise from the major roads risked being overestimated and given a misleading traffic noise mix. This was corrected by adding a distance-dependent extra damping that was added to the motorway, country road and city street. With a calculation time of 100,000 points of five days, the method is fast enough to be used in noise mapping even in the largest cities in Sweden. The result gives an idea of how it would sound, but does not sound exactly like in reality. It is limited by how well the noise mapping is calculated and does not include how the weather affects traffic noise. A more accurate calibration of the extra damping would need to be calculated in order for a more accurate sound mix in quiet residential areas. The method is adaptable and more traffic recordings can be added to the calculations, weather parameters can be adjusted and with an adapted noise mapping it is possible to obtain more accurate auralizations.

This thesis discusses the process of modeling a 21,000 seat fan-shaped auditorium using methods of geometric acoustics. Two commercial geometric acoustics software packages were used in the research: CATT-Acoustic™ 8.0 and EASE™ 4.1. The process first included creating preliminary models of the hall using published absorption coefficients for its surfaces and approximate scattering coefficients based on current best-known techniques. A detailed analysis determined the minimum numbers of rays needed in both packages to produce reliable results with these coefficient values. It was found that 100,000 rays were needed for CATT™ and 500,000 rays were needed for EASE™. Analysis was also done to determine whether the model was sensitive to the scattering coefficients of the seating areas. It was found that most acoustic parameters were not significantly affected by scattering coefficient variation. The models were subsequently refined by including measured absorption coefficients of dominant surfaces in the hall: the seats, audience and suspended absorptive panels. Comparisons were made between measurements made in the hall and results from the computer models with impulse responses, acoustic parameters, and auralizations. The results have shown that the models have been successful at representing characteristics of the hall at some positions but less successful at representing them at other positions. Comparisons have shown that positions on the rostrum were especially difficult positions to model in this hall. Significant differences were not found between the preliminary models and the refined models. There was not significant evidence showing that either the EASE™ or the CATT™ model was more successful in accurately representing the acoustical conditions of the hall. The results from this research suggest that more work must be done to improve the modeling capabilities of these packages for this application.

Buscando-se a aplicação prática da teoria de Wave Field Synthesis (WFS) na música, foi feita uma pesquisa visando à modelagem de um sistema de sonorização capaz de criar imagens sonoras espaciais com a utilização desta técnica. Diferentemente da maioria das outras técnicas de sonorização, que trabalham com uma região de escuta pequena e localizada, WFS permite projetar os sons de cada fonte sonora - como instrumentos musicais e vozes - em diferentes pontos do espaço de audição, em uma região de escuta que pode abranger quase toda a área compreendida por este espaço, dependendo da quantidade de alto-falantes instalados. O desenvolvimento de um código de estrutura modular para WFS foi baseado na plataforma orientada a patches Pure Data (Pd), e no sistema de auralização AUDIENCE, desenvolvido na USP, sendo integrável como ferramenta para espacialização sonora interativa. A solução emprega patches dinâmicos e uma arquitetura modular, permitindo flexibilidade e manutenabilidade do código, com vantagens frente a outros software existentes, particularmente na instalação, operação e para lidar com um número elevado de fontes sonoras e alto-falantes. Para este sistema também foram desenvolvidos alto-falantes especiais com características que facilitam seu uso em aplicações musicais. / Seeking the practical application of the theory of Wave Field Synthesis (WFS) in music, a research aimed at modeling a sound system capable of creating spatial sound images with the use of this technique was made. Unlike most other techniques for sound projection that work with a small, localized listening area, WFS allows projecting the sounds of each sound source - such as musical instruments and voices - at different points within the hearing space, in a region that can cover almost the entire area comprised by this space, depending on the amount of installed speakers. The development of a modular structured code for WFS was based on the patch-oriented platform Pure Data (Pd), and on the AUDIENCE auralization system developed at USP, and it is integrable as a tool for interactive sound spatialization. The solution employs dynamic patches and a modular architecture, allowing code flexibility and maintainability, with advantages compared to other existing software, particularly in the installation, operation and to handle a large number of sound sources and speakers. For this system special speakers with features that facilitate its use in musical applications were also developed.