Fitting pinna-related transfer functions to anthropometry for binaural sound rendering

Abstract

This paper faces the general problem of modeling pinna-related transfer functions (PRTFs) for 3-D sound rendering. Following a structural approach, we aim at constructing a model for PRTF synthesis which allows to control separately the evolution of ear resonances and spectral notches through the design of two distinct filter blocks. Taking such model as endpoint, we propose a method based on the McAulay-Quatieri partial tracking algorithm to extract the frequencies of the most important spectral notches. Ray-tracing analysis performed on the so obtained tracks reveals a convincing correspondence between extracted frequencies and pinna geometry of a bunch of subjects.