Extending Geometrical Acoustics to Highly Detailed Architectural Environments

Geometrical acoustics (GA) is a widely used approximation for simulating sound propagation in virtual 3D environments. However, GA is a high-frequency approximation and therefore very detailed models, containing features small compared to audible wavelengths, may fall outside its validity domain. Including finer geometrical details might actually degrade the quality of the simulation, as supported by a number of previous studies. Furthermore, the cost of running GA-based simulations significantly increases with the geometrical complexity. In this paper, we propose an extension to GA for highly detailed environments. In particular, we pre-compute a representation of the scattering behavior off complex geometry using finite element techniques. We then use this representation within classical GA frameworks, such as radiosity or ray-casting, to compute impulse responses and auralize the corresponding acoustical effects.