Control and Measurement of Apparent Sound Source Width and its Applications to Sonification and Virtual Auditory Displays

The aim of this paper is to investigate the possibility of using the spatial extent of sound sources as a mean of carrying information in sonification designs. To do so, we studied the accuracy of the perception of artificially produced sound source extent in a 3D audio environment. We found that the source extent perceived by subjects matched relatively well the intended source extent. Thus source extent could be used as a tool to represent areas, sizes and regions in virtual auditory displays. This paper also reviews the technologies involved in the reproduction and measurement of spatially extended sound sources. Finally, it is shown that the perception of sound source extent can be sensitive to temporal and spectral variations thereby adding extra sonification parameters.