Real Time Auralization Module for Electronic Travel Aid Devices for People with Visual Disability

Abstract

This paper presents a software module for real-timeauralization that was used to recreate the acoustic perceptionproduced by a sound obstacle in virtual and real environments.This module fulfills the function of inserting, in any audio signal,a three-dimensional positioning effect that allows the listenerto determine the location of a sound source within the chosentest environment. This effect was achieved with a processingtechnique called segmented convolution and several functionscontained in a database of head related impulse responses(HRIRs). The module was tested in a real environment anda virtual one. In the real test environment, the user had astereoscopic camera that fulfilled the function of an obstacledetector, as well as a computer and headphones, in which themodule was installed and three-dimensional sound alerts weregenerated. In this way, the effects could be recorded, analyzed,discussed and finally validated.

Keywords

• aurilization
• segmented convolution
• eta
• validation of virtual reality.