Tracking of Spatially Dynamic Room Impulse Responses Along Locally Linearized Trajectories

TL;DR

This paper extends a method for estimating room impulse responses along trajectories by segmenting longer paths into smaller linear parts, enabling application in complex real-world environments with moving microphones.

Contribution

It introduces a practical segmentation approach to apply linear trajectory RIR estimation in more realistic, complex room scenarios.

Findings

Effective in real-room recordings with moving microphones.

Extends applicability to complex trajectories.

Validates method using real-world data.

Abstract

Measuring room impulse responses (RIRs) at multiple spatial points is a time-consuming task, while simulations require detailed knowledge of the room's acoustic environment. In prior work, we proposed a method for estimating the early part of RIRs along a linear trajectory in a time-varying acoustic scenario involving a static sound source and a microphone moving at constant velocity. This approach relies on measured RIRs at the start and end points of the trajectory and assumes that the time intervals occupied by the direct sound and individual reflections along the trajectory are non-overlapping. The method's applicability is therefore restricted to relatively small areas within a room, and its performance has yet to be validated with real-world data. In this paper, we propose a practical extension of the method to more realistic scenarios by segmenting longer trajectories into smaller linear intervals where the assumptions approximately hold. Applying the method piecewise along these segments extends its applicability to more complex room environments. We demonstrate its effectiveness using the trajectoRIR database, which includes moving microphone recordings and RIR measurements at discrete points along a controlled L-shaped trajectory in a real room.