Interactive Vehicle Interior Sound Simulation

Virtual auditory environments (VAE) are becoming more and more important for the development phase of vehicles. Interactive simulation introduces a quite new dimension in comparison to laboratory listening tests. In order to achieve an immersive VAE, all relevant sound components have to be realized in a realistic way and updated in real-time according to the driver’s actions. A concept is presented that covers all classes of relevant sound components: background sounds, engine, tire and wind sound, sounds of other vehicles, pedestrians and warning signals. At the beginning of a virtual car project, normally the sound generation is based on recordings. In order to investigate the effect of vibroacoustic relevant car components on the overall interior sound the different sound components can also be generated by binaural transfer path analysis and synthesis (BTPA and BTPS). Simulation tools enabling interactive sound engineering as well as sound and vibration reproduction techniques are discussed.