Perceptual Evaluation of Spatial Audio for “Audio Nomad” Augmented Reality Artworks [PDF] by Nick Mariette: Audio Nomad is a three-year art / science research collaboration on the creative and technological potentials of location-sensitive, mobile spatial audio. The first Audio Nomad productions were two versions of Syren – a ship-based multi-speaker installation using the ship’s position from a GPS receiver to render a two dimensional soundscape. New work including Virtual Wall (Berlin) will create a personal location-sensitive spatial soundscape on headphones using a portable computer, GPS receiver and digital compass. The technological intent is to enable the artist to augment real world objects and spaces with sounds perceived to emanate from them. It is important to know the maximum perceivable accuracy of the intended augmented reality effect, given human and technology limitations, even if soundscape design doesn’t always require maximum precision. Ultimately, authoring software features will inform the artist of afforded perceptual quality, enabling better utilisation of the medium’s potential. Few similar projects have been produced to date and fewer have published quantitative perceptual evaluation research. This paper reviews the field and describes present experimental results and future work on the perceptual evaluation of binaural spatial audio for mobile augmented reality, especially Audio Nomad artworks.

Audio Nomad is a research collaboration between artist Dr. Nigel Helyer (Sonic Objects), Dr. Daniel Woo (Human Computer
Interface Lab, UNSW) and Prof. Chris Rizos (Satellite Navigation and Positioning Lab, UNSW), producing art / science research
outcomes with location-sensitive spatial audio technology. The author is a PhD candidate working with Audio Nomad, developing spatial audio synthesis and researching perception of audio augmented reality. Audio Nomad produced two versions of Syren, a ship-based location sensitive spatial audio installation that renders sounds to a multichannel speaker array in relation to visible landmarks and regions as the vessel navigated waterways, first on the Baltic Sea (Helyer, Woo et al. 2004; Woo, Mariette et al. 2005), then Sydney Harbour (Helyer, Woo et al. 2006; Woo, Mariette et al. 2006).

New Audio Nomad works implement personal location-sensitive spatial audio on headphones, for pedestrian users. Virtual Wall will trace the now-absent Berlin Wall through Berlin-Mitte, overlaying space with a complex two-dimensional soundscape generated on a mobile device (Helyer, Woo et al. 2006). More >>