Wave-domain acoustic energy difference maximization method for multi-zone sound field reproduction

Multi-zone sound field reproduction aims to create personal sound zones within distinct spatial regions of a shared environment using a loudspeaker array. This paper proposes a wave-domain acoustic energy difference maximization (WDAEDM) method for reproducing multi-zone sound field. The proposed method first represents sound fields and transfer functions with spatial harmonic expansion, then constructs an acoustic energy difference maximization (AEDM) model in the wave domain using sound field coefficients and their relationship with loudspeaker weights, and finally solves this model through eigenvalue decomposition. Simulation results of free-field and automotive cabin acoustic environments have demonstrated that the proposed WDAEDM method presents a more uniform energy distribution within zones compared with the existing spatial-domain methods, and also eliminates the parameter selection issues encountered in existing wave-domain methods.