Virtual Reality Platform for Sonification Evaluation

In this paper we propose a game-based virtual reality platform for evaluation of sonification techniques. We study the task of localization of stationary objects in virtual reality using auditory cues. We further explore sonification techniques and compare the performance in this task using the proposed platform. The virtual reality environment is developed using Unity3D (game engine) and an Oculus Rift, a head mounted virtual reality display. Parameter mapping sonification techniques are employed to map the position of the object in virtual space to sound. Hence, the framework defined here constitutes an auditory virtual reality environment. This auditory display interface is subjectively evaluated in stationary object localization task. A statistical analysis of the subjective and objective measures of the listening test is performed resulting in a robust and scientific evaluation of the sonification methods.