Application of wave field synthesis in virtual acoustic engineering

State-of-the-art product design processes are driven by virtual reality (VR) technologies. However VR technologies these days are often limited to visualization only. Due to the lack of robust psychoacoustic models that predict parameters like pleasantness of audio signals, a plausible auralisation of product sound is mandatory. Modern sound reproduction techniques, such as wave field synthesis (WFS), can help us to embed an appropriate acoustical environment in virtual engineering. Possible use cases are noise reduction, sound design, sound branding, product presentation as well as soundscape planning. WFS is a sound reproduction technique for physical synthesis of a virtual sound field. In contrast to stereo or surround sound, it is possible with WFS to overcome the "sweet spot" problem which is essential for interactive multi-user VR systems. Currently this technology is mainly used in entertainment applications. This paper introduces a concept and a prototypical implementation of an object-based acoustical environment for virtual engineering. It is designed for the auralisation of both single sources as well as complex sound scenes by means of up-to-date wave field synthesis technologies. The presented system covers latest developments in spatial audio reproduction, e.g. auralization of directional sources, interactive real-time room acoustic simulation and an intuitive user interface.