Auralizing arbitrary urban environments including diffraction

The auralization of urban environments presents significant challenges due to their often convex geometries and dynamic nature involving fast-moving sound sources and receivers. In this work, we introduce an open-source auralization tool specifically designed to address these challenges by efficiently simulating sound propagation in dynamically changing, arbitrarily built environments without constraints to a single type of sound source. By leveraging principles from geometrical acoustics and specifically from the uniform theory of diffraction, our method efficiently models mixed reflections and diffraction effects, including higher-order diffractions and Doppler effects. The tool is evaluated with benchmark scenarios intended to stress-test its capabilities; while some limitations related to underlying assumptions -- such as finite-length edges -- are identified. These findings underscore its potential for accurately auralizing urban environments. The evaluation highlights the need for the simulation of diffraction and higher-order diffraction effects not only in shadow regions but also around edges, which significantly influences overall sound propagation accuracy. Furthermore, our implementation provides a modular and flexible framework with open interfaces and exchange formats that facilitate integration with existing tools and adaptation to diverse use cases.