WHAM: TO ASYMMETRY AND BEYOND!

Spatial hearing is our ability to make sense of the complex and multiple acoustic cues provided to our ear/brain system by the world around us. Sounding objects have a direction, location and sound of the place where they occur and, combined with the dynamic nature of our constantly changing position, give a rich source of data for the world around us. The reproduction of sound can benefit greatly, in many situations, from an accurate dynamic simulation of this complex acoustical scenario, or auralisation. Auralisation of acoustic spaces is a tool used in many industries. To provide a truly representative result, the systems used must capture and deliver critical, dynamic, psychoacoustic cues that react to the listener’s head position. The WHAM (Webcam Head-tracked Ambisonics) website (www.brucewiggins.co.uk/WHAM) utilises webcams to provide auralisation that reacts to head rotation via the browser using standard HRTF data; visitors to the site can experience very high order horizontal only Ambisonic to binaural presentation of room responses. In its initial inception, orders were limited to 7th order asymmetry for the final binaural presentation, which previous research has shown to fall below a transparent perceptual threshold compared to a system limited to 31st order1. This paper documents the developments to deliver beyond 7th order and improvements in functionality made to the WHAM website and open-source JS Ambisonics software library, that continue to make it a useful remote resource for acoustic auralisation purposes.