This simulation will only be convincing if the diffraction algorithm is sufficiently accurate in any virtual scene you find yourself in-and sufficiently fast to be computed in real-time. In Space3D, diffraction is simulated together with reflections of sound off of obstacles, to determine a set of paths which sound traverses from sound sources through an environment to your ears. VDaT was introduced in the paper, "Approximate diffraction modeling for real-time sound propagation simulation" (Louis Pisha, Siddharth Atre, John Burnett, and Shahrokh Yadegari), published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA) (October 8th, 2020), and featured on the cover of JASA's October issue.ĭiffraction of sounds around obstacles is a key component of our everyday sonic experience, although we may not be consciously aware of it: it is why sounds do not abruptly start or stop when moving around corners or behind obstacles. VDaT (Volumetric Diffraction and Transmission) is an algorithm developed at Sonic Arts for simulating the diffraction of sound in virtual environments, such as the virtual worlds of games and VR. Note that the sound waves behind the barrier appear to come from the diffracting edge, despite VDaT being neither a wave-based nor an edge-based model.
Sound propagating around a barrier, as modeled by VDaT.