Recent advances in spatial audio technologies have led to growing interest in interactive and immersive applications. As part of our research on interactive audio systems, we developed an experimental platform where users interact with a spatially moving virtual sound source using their hands, resembling acoustic air hockey. The virtual sound source approaching from the front is reproduced using time-domain wave field synthesis implemented with a linear loudspeaker array. The user’s hand position is tracked in real time using Microsoft Azure Kinect DK. The sound undergoes specular reflections from virtual walls and from a virtual stick centered on and controlled by the user’s hand. We conducted a subjective experiment to evaluate the perception of hand-mediated reflection and quantify interaction behavior. When the depth of the sound image was clearly perceived, participants reported stronger perception of hand-mediated reflection and greater enjoyment. Additionally, participants achieved more hand–source collisions under these conditions, indicating improved interaction control. We further introduced a hand-swinging gesture that dynamically modulated reflection direction and speed based on motion. We compared this motion-dependent interaction to a non-swinging condition and evaluated its effect on the perception of hand-mediated reflection. Work supported by Support Center for Advanced Telecommunications Technology Research, Foundation (SCAT).
Suefuji et al. (Wed,) studied this question.