Immersive Audio

Chapter 11 discussed spatial audio, which typically involves placing sound sources anywhere in the three-dimensional space around the listener. Immersive audio goes further, allowing both the listener and all sources to be moving in any direction from arbitrary positions, with arbitrary orientations, as well as to define directional properties of the sources, how sound levels decay with distance and how the spatial sound is finally rendered. It aims to fully immerse the listener in a sonic environment. Here, the spatial geometry for an immersive environment is first described. Then an immersive audio effect is constructed, where sounds are rendered, given full knowledge of the environment. Emerging technologies are also discussed.