Survey of Methods for Modeling Sound Propagation in Interactive Virtual Environment Systems

This paper surveys concepts, algorithms, and systems for modeling sound propagation in interactive virtual environment applications. First, we review physically-based geometric algorithms for modeling the propagation of early arriving sound waves. Second, we describe perceptually-based statistical techniques that provide late reverberation effects. Finally, we compare auditory display systems that produce spatialized sounds using headphones or speakers. Overall, the paper provides the salient information required for incorporation of spatialized sounds into interactive virtual environment simulation systems.