Assessing Room Acoustic Self-Localization using a Virtual Blindfold

Knowing how well listeners can perform self-localization based on room reflections is important for designing acoustic rendering with 6 Degrees-of-Freedom (6DoF). In contrast to earlier work on echolocation with self-produced sounds, we study to which extend self-localization is possible using external sounds. To assess this, we present a novel experimental design that uses a virtual blindfold technique: Participants listen to sound sources in a room, when at the same time they are visually presented with a 3D-scanned model of the room on a head-mounted display. Whilst staying at one position in the real room, they can switch between different positions in the virtual representation. Their task is to identify the perspective that matches their physical location. Results of the pilot experiment, conducted in a small room with irregularly distributed absorption, indicate that identifying one’s position in the room solely based on the room acoustics is difficult. The new virtual blindfold design allows for assessing self-localization in diverse scenarios and permits conclusions about the need for 6DoF acoustic rendering.