High order Ambisonics: applications in room acoustics and music technology

• Grant number: 14/19520-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: December 01, 2014
• End date: November 30, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Arts - Music
• Principal Investigator: Fernando Henrique de Oliveira Iazzetta
• Grantee: Fábio Leão Figueiredo
• Supervisor: Olivier Warusfel
• Host Institution: Escola de Comunicações e Artes (ECA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM), France
• Associated to the scholarship: 11/19090-4 - Statistical validation of applying the Ambisonics system in room acoustics., BP.PD

Abstract

In recent decades, room acoustics has undergone considerable progress thanks to the evolution of techniques and equipment available. As this is a highly experimental area, new technical procedures have a decisive impact on lines of action, accuracy and the sophistication degree of processes involved. These developments lead to new results and interpretations that spur the world of room acoustics and its applications.In this context, one of the most prominent techniques in recent years is the Ambisonics. In a nutshell, it is a system that stands out for the accurate recording of information pertaining to acoustic spatiality, and its subsequent laboratory reproduction, through the re-creation of the original acoustic field. Created in the 1970s, the Ambisonics system has ever since experienced successive advancements. These developments relate to the quality of spatial reproduction provided by the system, and the resulting improvements in technical applications. We currently live an auspicious period, in which some of the most prestigious European laboratories turn Ambisonics functional to the most sophisticated devices ever produced.This project aims at developing an unprecedented action of acoustic measurements, in some major European concert halls, with the use of newly developed Ambisonics devices. Furthermore, it will encompass research applications of the material obtained in the areas of room acoustics and music technology. For this purpose, a network of collaboration between universities and laboratories will be created. The use of such devices, and the results obtained at the end of the research, will raise the technology in room acoustics, and sound spatial cognition, to new levels on a global scale. (AU)