# Effects of virtual acoustics on dynamic auditory distance perception

## TL;DR

This paper examines how different virtual acoustic simulation methods affect human perception of sound source distance, highlighting that more accurate reverberation techniques improve distance perception in virtual reality.

## Contribution

It compares parametric filter and ray tracing methods for real-time sound propagation, demonstrating that accurate reverberation reduces distance compression in VR environments.

## Key findings

- More accurate reverberation reduces distance compression.
- Ray tracing shows less distance compression than filter-based methods.
- Accurate acoustic simulation enhances VR distance perception.

## Abstract

Sound propagation encompasses various acoustic phenomena including reverberation. Current virtual acoustic methods, ranging from parametric filters to physically-accurate solvers, can simulate reverberation with varying degrees of fidelity. We investigate the effects of reverberant sounds generated using different propagation algorithms on acoustic distance perception, i.e., how faraway humans perceive a sound source. In particular, we evaluate two classes of methods for real-time sound propagation in dynamic scenes based on parametric filters and ray tracing. Our study shows that the more accurate method shows less distance compression as compared to the approximate, filter-based method. This suggests that accurate reverberation in VR results in a better reproduction of acoustic distances. We also quantify the levels of distance compression introduced by different propagation methods in a virtual environment.