Visualization of the sound field is useful for understanding complex acoustic environments and is used in acoustic education and design. Conventional real-time sound field visualization systems display measured acoustic data superimposed on a camera image. However, the visualized area is limited to the camera's field of view, and it is difficult to represent the three-dimensional (3-D) relationship between acoustic data and the physical environment. Therefore, repeated measurements from different camera positions are required to fully understand complex sound environments. To address these limitations, we have developed real-time 3-D sound field visualization systems utilizing Extended Reality (XR) technologies. The systems present measured acoustic data as augmented reality on mobile devices or head-mounted displays, enabling immersive observation from any angle. On standard displays, point cloud data are integrated for accurate 3-D visualization. Measurement logic and post-processing have also been optimized to support a wider range of 3-D measurements. In this presentation, two systems are introduced: “OTOMIRU®” visualizes beamforming results from a 16-channel microphone array in XR, offering flexible, wide-area visualization. “Sound Intensity Scanner AR” enables rapid 3-D sound intensity mapping by scanning with a 4-channel microphone array while wearing an XR device.
Inoue et al. (2025) studied this question.