A 3D Immersive synthesizer for environmental sounds

Charles Verron (1, 2) , Mitsuko Aramaki (3) , Richard Kronland-Martinet (2) , Grégory Pallone (1)

1 Orange Labs [Lannion]
2 LMA - Laboratoire de Mécanique et d'Acoustique [Marseille]
3 INCM - Institut de neurosciences cognitives de la méditerranée - UMR 6193

Nowadays, interactive 3D environments tend to include both synthesis and spatialization processes to increase the realism of virtual scenes. In typical systems, audio generation is created in two stages: first, a monophonic sound is synthesized (generation of the intrinsic timbre properties) and then it is spatialized (positioned in its environment). In this paper, we present the design of a 3D immersive synthesizer dedicated to environmental sounds, and intended to be used in the framework of interactive virtual reality applications. The system is based on a physical categorization of environmental sounds (vibrating solids, liquids, aerodynamics). The synthesis engine has a novel architecture combining an additive synthesis model and 3D audio modules at the prime level of sound generation. An original approach exploiting the synthesis capabilities for simulating the spatial extension of sound sources is also presented. The subjective results, evaluated with a formal listening test, are discussed. Finally, new control strategies based on a global manipulation of timbre and spatial attributes of sound sources are introduced.

Domaines: Son [cs.SD]

Charles Verron, Mitsuko Aramaki, Richard Kronland-Martinet, Grégory Pallone. A 3D Immersive synthesizer for environmental sounds. IEEE Transactions on Audio, Speech and Language Processing, 2010, 18 (6), pp.1550-1561. ⟨10.1109/TASL.2009.2037402⟩. ⟨hal-00462544⟩