Damian Murphy: Virtual acoustics: Vocal synthesis and soundscape auralization

ABSTRACT

Acoustic modeling and simulation work in the AudioLab, University of York, UK, has focused most recently in two areas. 

In the first, 3-D models of the vocal tract have been measured using MRI, and simulated using a high-resolution digital waveguide mesh. Five professional singers were used to obtain physiological data, as well as appropriate source material for model excitation, and acoustic data for benchmarking the audio quality of the final simulations. Although the MRI and 3-D modeling process achieve high levels of detail, efficient simulations of lower complexity that allow real-time articulation are still desirable, and a recent SuperCollider vocal tract implementation will also be presented.

Auralization, our second area of related research, enables us to audition virtual acoustic environments that have existed in the past, that are about to be built, or that are purely fictional, and is a key part of the modern architectural and environmental engineering design process. We are investigating new hybrid modeling methods to improve how auralization is both implemented and delivered, with efficient, accurate, interactive simulation being one significant challenge. This is particularly critical as we start to apply these methods to large, outdoor, potentially unbounded soundscapes, and investigate the quality of the user experience that arises as a result of these simulations. Exploring a number of case studies we will see how artists and engineers can use auralization to better design aspects of our environment, while also encouraging and enabling us to interpret and understand the sounds we are surrounded by, whether past, present or future.

 

Damian MurphyABOUT DAMIAN MURPHY

Dr Damian Murphy is Reader in Audio and Music Technology, and deputy head of the AudioLab, Department of Electronics, University of York, UK, where he has been a member of academic staff since 2000. His research focuses on virtual acoustics, spatial audio and physical modeling and he has published over 100 journal articles, conference papers and books in the area. He is a member of the Audio Engineering Society, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a visiting lecturer to the Department of Speech, Music and Hearing at KTH, Stockholm, where he specialises in spatial audio and acoustics. He has also held visiting researcher status at a number of universities internationally.

Dr Murphy is an active sound artist and in 2004 was appointed as one of the UK's first Arts and Science Research Fellows. His work has been presented in galleries nationally and at festivals and venues internationally and included varied collaborations with writers, photographers, and interactive digital artists. He is a founding member of Geodesic Arts through which most of his more recent work has been produced.