Real-time Implementation of the Spectral Division Method for Binaural Personal Audio Delivery with Head Tracking

Publication Year
2021

Type

Conference Paper
Abstract

A scheme for implementing the Spectral Division Method (SDM) in real time for delivering binaural personal audio to multiple listeners with head tracking is presented. The SDM, as an analytical approach for sound field reproduction, has been applied to generating personal audio filters that create acoustically bright and dark zones. However, only the case of static listening positions has been investigated. In realistic situations, the performance of such personal audio delivery systems will degrade significantly when the listeners move out of the "sweet spots". In order to achieve dynamic personal audio delivery that compensates for listeners' head movements, the SDM-based filters are updated in real time through simple multiplications in the wavenumber domain, by utilizing the shifting theorem of the spatial Fourier transform along the x-axis. Furthermore, by selecting two spatial window functions targeted at two ears, the generated filters are able to deliver separate binaural personal audio to multiple listeners. The proposed scheme offers an intuitive and efficient solution for binaural personal audio delivery with head tracking, without the need of regenerating multiple filters as required by traditional methods.

Conference Name
151st Convention of the Audio Engineering Society (AES 151)