Reverberation and its Binaural Reproduction: The Trade-off between Computational Efficiency and Perceived Quality

Abstract

Accurately rendering reverberation is critical to produce realistic binaural audio, particularly in augmented reality applications where virtual objects must blend in seamlessly with real ones. However, rigorously simulating sound waves interacting with the auralised space can be computationally costly, sometimes to the point of being unfeasible in real time applications on resource-limited mobile platforms. Luckily, knowledge of auditory perception can be leveraged to make computational savings without compromising quality. This chapter reviews different approaches and methods for rendering binaural reverberation efficiently, focusing specifically on Ambisonics-based techniques aimed at reducing the spatial resolution of late reverberation components. Potential future research directions in this area are also discussed.