Parametric spatial sound processing: A flexible and efficient solution to sound scene acquisition, modification, and reproduction

Flexible and efficient spatial sound acquisition and subsequent processing are of paramount importance in communication and assisted listening devices such as mobile phones, hearing aids, smart TVs, and emerging wearable devices (e.g., smart watches and glasses). In application scenarios where the number of sound sources quickly varies, sources move, and nonstationary noise and reverberation are commonly encountered, it remains a challenge to capture sounds in such a way that they can be reproduced with a high and invariable sound quality. In addition, the objective in terms of what needs to be captured, and how it should be reproduced, depends on the application and on the user's preferences. Parametric spatial sound processing has been around for two decades and provides a flexible and efficient solution to capture, code, and transmit, as well as manipulate and reproduce spatial sounds.