IP Library Granted Patent US 9,977,644
Granted Patent B2
US 9,977,644 · App. 14/812,785 · Granted May 22, 2018

Methods, systems, and computer readable media for conducting interactive sound propagation and rendering for a plurality of sound sources in a virtual environment scene

Inventors: Carl Henry Schissler (Carrboro, NC); Dinesh Manocha (Chapel Hill, NC)
Assignee: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
G06F3/165H04R27/00G10H2210/136G10H2210/305H04S7/30H04S7/302H04S7/305H04S2400/15H04S2420/07
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,977,644
App. No.
14/812,785
Granted
May 22, 2018
Kind
B2
Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer readable media for conducting interactive sound propagation and rending for a plurality of sound sources in a virtual environment scene are disclosed. According to one method, the method includes decomposing a virtual environment scene containing a plurality of sound sources into a plurality of partitions and forming a plurality of source group clusters, wherein each of the source group clusters includes two or more of the sound sources located within a common partition. The method further includes determining, for each of the source group clusters, a single set of sound propagation paths relative to a listener position and generating a simulated output sound at a listener position using sound intensities associated with the determined sets of sound propagation paths.

Claims (50)

1. A method for conducting interactive sound propagation and rendering for a plurality of sound sources in a virtual environment scene, the method comprising:

decomposing a virtual environment scene containing a plurality of sound sources into a plurality of partitions;

forming a plurality of source group clusters, wherein each of the source group clusters includes two or more of the sound sources located within a common partition;

determining, for each of the source group clusters, a single set of sound propagation paths relative to a listener position;

generating a simulated output sound at a listener position using sound intensities associated with the determined sets of sound propagation paths, wherein generating a simulated output sound includes sorting each of the sound propagation paths based on an amount of Doppler shifting exhibited by the sound propagation path; and

rendering a sound intensity using fractional delay line interpolation on a first group of the sound propagation paths that exhibits an amount of Doppler shifting that exceeds a predefined threshold.

2. A method for conducting interactive sound propagation and rendering for a plurality of sound sources in a virtual environment scene, the method comprising:

decomposing a virtual environment scene containing a plurality of sound sources into a plurality of partitions;

forming a plurality of source group clusters, wherein each of the source group clusters includes two or more of the sound sources located within a common partition;

determining, for each of the source group clusters, a single set of sound propagation paths relative to a listener position;

generating a simulated output sound at a listener position using sound intensities associated with the determined sets of sound propagation paths, wherein generating a simulated output sound includes sorting each of the sound propagation paths based on an amount of Doppler shifting exhibited by the sound propagation path; and

rendering a sound intensity using a partitioned block convolution algorithm on a second group of the sound propagation paths that exhibits an amount of Doppler shifting that fails to exceed a predefined threshold.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the sound sources are formed into source group clusters based on a location relative to the listener position.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the simulated output sound includes specular and diffuse reflections that are determined by tracing rays backwards from the listener position to at least one of the sound sources.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein forming the plurality of source group clusters includes merging two or more source group clusters into a single merged source group cluster.

6. A system for conducting interactive sound propagation and rendering for a plurality of sound sources in a virtual environment scene, the system comprising:

a processor;

a scene decomposition module (SDM) executable by the processor, the SDM is configured to decompose a virtual environment scene containing a plurality of sound sources into a plurality of partitions;

a sound source clustering (SSC) module executable by the processor, the SSC module is configured to:

form a plurality of source group clusters, wherein each of the source group clusters includes two or more of the sound sources located within a common partition; and

determine, for each of the source group clusters, a single set of sound propagation paths relative to a listener position; and

a hybrid convolution audio rendering (HCAR) module executable by the processor, the HCAR module is configured to:

generate a simulated output sound at a listener position using sound intensities associated with the determined sets of sound propagation paths by sorting each of the sound propagation paths based on an amount of Doppler shifting exhibited by the sound propagation path, and

render a sound intensity using fractional delay line interpolation on a first group of the sound propagation paths that exhibits an amount of Doppler shifting that exceeds a predefined threshold.

7. A system for conducting interactive sound propagation and rendering for a plurality of sound sources in a virtual environment scene, the system comprising:

a processor;

a scene decomposition module (SDM) executable by the processor, the SDM is configured to decompose a virtual environment scene containing a plurality of sound sources into a plurality of partitions;

a sound source clustering (SSC) module executable by the processor, the SSC module is configured to:

form a plurality of source group clusters, wherein each of the source group clusters includes two or more of the sound sources located within a common partition; and

determine, for each of the source group clusters, a single set of sound propagation paths relative to a listener position; and

a hybrid convolution audio rendering (HCAR) module executable by the processor, the HCAR module is configured to:

generate a simulated output sound at a listener position using sound intensities associated with the determined sets of sound propagation paths by sorting each of the sound propagation paths based on an amount of Doppler shifting exhibited by the sound propagation path; and

render a sound intensity using a partitioned block convolution algorithm on a second group of the sound propagation paths that exhibits an amount of Doppler shifting that fails to exceed a predefined threshold.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein the sound sources are formed into source group clusters based on a location relative to the listener position.

9. The system of claim 6 wherein the simulated output sound includes specular and diffuse reflections that are determined by tracing rays backwards from the listener position to at least one of the sound sources.

10. The system of claim 6 wherein the SSC module is further configured to merging two or more source group clusters into a single merged source group cluster.

11. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon executable instructions that when executed by a processor of a computer cause the computer to perform steps comprising:

decomposing a virtual environment scene containing a plurality of sound sources into a plurality of partitions;

forming a plurality of source group clusters, wherein each of the source group clusters includes two or more of the sound sources located within a common partition;

determining, for each of the source group clusters, a single set of sound propagation paths relative to a listener position;

generating a simulated output sound at a listener position using sound intensities associated with the determined sets of sound propagation paths, wherein generating a simulated output sound includes sorting each of the sound propagation paths based on an amount of Doppler shifting exhibited by the sound propagation path; and

rendering a sound intensity using fractional delay line interpolation on a first group of the sound propagation paths that exhibits an amount of Doppler shifting that exceeds a predefined threshold.

12. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon executable instructions that when executed by a processor of a computer cause the computer to perform steps comprising:

decomposing a virtual environment scene containing a plurality of sound sources into a plurality of partitions;

forming a plurality of source group clusters, wherein each of the source group clusters includes two or more of the sound sources located within a common partition;

determining, for each of the source group clusters, a single set of sound propagation paths relative to a listener position;

generating a simulated output sound at a listener position using sound intensities associated with the determined sets of sound propagation paths, wherein generating a simulated output sound includes sorting each of the sound propagation paths based on an amount of Doppler shifting exhibited by the sound propagation path; and

rendering a sound intensity using a partitioned block convolution algorithm on a second group of the sound propagation paths that exhibits an amount of Doppler shifting that fails to exceed a predefined threshold.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 wherein the sound sources are formed into source group clusters based on a location relative to the listener position.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 wherein the simulated output sound includes specular and diffuse reflections that are determined by tracing rays backwards from the listener position to at least one of the sound sources.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 29, 2015
From: SCHISSLER, CARL HENRY; MANOCHA, DINESH
To: THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
Reel/Frame 036911/0469 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62030393 · Jul 29, 2014
Related Publication 20160034248A1 · Feb 4, 2016