Axel Ahrens’s thesis presents three original studies that investigate issues related to the use of virtual sound environments and virtual audio-visual environments for conducting perceptual research. The first two studies examine different approaches for creating a virtual acoustic version of a room, the perceptual effects and limitations of reproduction techniques and the effect of the source size on speech intelligibility. The third study explores the acoustic and perceptual impact of wearing virtual-reality (VR) goggles when listeners are asked to make sound localization judgements, and investigates the role of visual feedback in this task.
The results of the thesis demonstrate that virtual reality glasses and loudspeaker-based virtual sound environments are promising tools for the reproduction of realistic audio-visual scenarios, and can be successfully applied in perceptual research. Such virtual environments will also support the development and evaluation of new technologies in hearing aids and audio wearables, for example.
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Co supervisor: Dr. Marton Marschall, DTU Health Tech
Chairman Evaluation Board Associate Professor MacDonald, DTU Health Tech
Principal supervisor: Professor Torsten Dau, DTU Health Tech
PhD Axel Ahrens
Examiners Associate Professor Pavel Zahorik, University of Louisville School of Medicine
Doz. Dr. Piotr Majdak, Acoustics Research Institute
Chairperson at the defense: Efren Fernandez Grande, DTU Elektro