Perceptually Motivated Analysis of Numerically Simulated Head-Related Transfer Functions Generated By Various 3D Surface Scanning Systems

Abstract

Numerical simulations offer a feasible alternative to the direct acoustic measurement of individual head-related transfer functions (HRTFs). For the acquisition of high quality 3D surface scans, as required for these simulations, several approaches exist. In this paper, we systematically analyze the variations between different approaches and evaluate the influence of the accuracy of 3D scans on the resulting simulated HRTFs. To assess this effect, HRTFs were numerically simulated based on 3D scans of the head and pinna of the FABIAN dummy head generated with 6 different methods. These HRTFs were analyzed in terms of interaural time difference, interaural level difference, energetic error in auditory filters and by their modeled localization performance. From the results, it is found that a geometric precision of about 1 mm is needed to maintain accurate localization cues, while a precision of about 4 mm is sufficient to maintain the overall spectral shape.