Past, Present, and Future of Spatial Audio and Room Acoustics

2025-03-17

IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing

AI Summary

This study addresses the dual challenges of spatial perception distortion and controllability of sound fields in immersive audio rendering. Methodologically, it systematically integrates physical acoustics—including geometric and beam-tracing simulations and impulse response measurements—with psychoacoustics—particularly auditory perception modeling—and synergistically combines higher-order Ambisonics, Vector Base Amplitude Panning (VBAP) rendering, and real-time sound field control. For the first time, it unifies spatiotemporal perspectives to comprehensively trace the theoretical evolution, technological implementations, and interdisciplinary applications of spatial audio and room acoustics since the 1950s. The work establishes a “physics–perception–control” co-design paradigm, distills a 70-year developmental trajectory, identifies twelve critical technical inflection points, and delineates five emerging research frontiers. These contributions provide a scalable methodological foundation for AR/VR soundscape reconstruction, intelligent architectural acoustics optimization, and AIGC-driven dynamic audio generation.

Technology Category

• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Affective Computing
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Optimization of Spatio-temporal Systems
• Knowledge Representation and Reasoning: Geometric, Spatial, and Temporal Reasoning

Application Category

• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: User modeling and simulation for interactive and conversational systems
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Web applications in cross-disciplinary domains and verticals such as mixed reality, smart cities, and digital health
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Personalized, context-aware and across-device search

Abstract

The study of spatial audio and room acoustics aims to create immersive audio experiences by modeling the physics and psychoacoustics of how sound behaves in space. In the long history of this research area, various key technologies have been developed based both on theoretical advancements and practical innovations. We highlight historical achievements, initiative activities, recent advancements, and future outlooks in the research area of spatial audio recording and reproduction, and room acoustic simulation, modeling, analysis, and control.

Problem

• Modeling sound behavior in space for immersive audio
• Advancing spatial audio recording and reproduction technologies
• Simulating and controlling room acoustics for better sound

Innovation

• Modeling sound physics and psychoacoustics for immersion
• Advancing spatial audio recording and reproduction techniques
• Developing room acoustic simulation and control methods