Abstract

The head-related transfer function (HRTF) describes the acoustic transmission of sound waves from a sound source to a listener’s binaural ears. When applied to headphones, VR headsets, and similar devices, the use of non-personalized HRTFs may lead to perception errors such as inside-the-head localization, front-back confusion, and/or a breakdown of elevation discrimination ability. This disclosure describes techniques to personalize HRTFs for spatial audio products. A compact, spatial-domain HRTF representation is constructed that achieves a realistic spatial listening experience by structurally modeling person-specific acoustic components such as head shadowing, torso reflection, and pinna (outer ear) filtering. The HRTF is decomposed into structural components using a unique set of spherical harmonic (SH) coefficients that fit easily into various structural models to personalize the HRTF to the individual using the headphones or virtual reality headset.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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