Immersive Sound based on Head Related Transfer Functions

Description

The aim of the research will be to create a system for generating personalised HRTFs (Head Related Transfer Functions) that is as simple, accurate, faithful and efficient as possible. The innovations targeted by the thesis will help to improve the automatic creation (without manual retouching) of high-quality datasets, models using photogrammetric data to create accurate 3D models of the ear, and the detection of anthropometric data from these 3D models. With all these elements, this thesis will attempt to clarify the understanding of the relationship between HRTFs and the morphology of a given individual.

The creation of personalised HRTFs is an operation that enables the sound of a virtual scene to be adapted to the morphology of any listener, thereby improving the sense of immersion. Automatic 3D modelling of the ear based on photographs (or photogrammetry [1]) and automatic detection of anthropometric data [2] or morphing of a high-resolution 3D ear mesh with anthropomorphic data [3] are some of the methods used to create these custom function sets. On the other hand, as far as HRTF dataset formats are concerned, although the SOFA standard [4] was defined in 2015, it does not include anthropomorphic data, the structure of which is left up to the individual.

[1] Dellepiane M, Pietroni N, Tsingos N, Asselot M, Scopigno R. Reconstructing head models from photographs for individualized 3d-audio processing. In: Computer Graphics Forum. Vol. 27. Hoboken, New Jersey, United States: Wiley Online Library; 2008. pp. 1779-1727. DOI:10’1111/ j.7467 -8659.20 0 8. 01316.x
[2] D. Fantini, F. Avanzini, S. Ntalampiras and G. Presti, “HRTF Individualization Based on Anthropometric Measurements Extracted from 3D Head Meshes,” 2021 Immersive and 3D Audio: from Architecture to Automotive (I3DA), Bologna, Italy, 2021, pp. 1-10, doi: 10.1109/I3DA48870.2021.9610904.
[3] K. Pollack and P. Majdak, “Evaluation of a parametric pinna model for the calculation of head-related transfer functions,” 2021 Immersive and 3D Audio: from Architecture to Automotive (I3DA), Bologna, Italy, 2021, pp. 1-5, doi: 10.1109/I3DA48870.2021.9610885.
[4] P. Majdak, Y. Iwaya, T. Carpentier, R. Nicol, M. Parmentier, A. Roginska, Y. Suzuki, K. Watanabe, H. Wierstorf, H. Ziegelwanger, and M. Noisternig, “Spatially Oriented Format for Acoustics: A Data Exchange Format Representing Head-Related Transfer Functions,” Paper 8880, (2013 May.).