An open architecture for auralization of dynamic soundscapes

An open architecture for auralization has been developed by NASA to support research aimed at understanding human response to sound within a complex and dynamic soundscape. The NASA Auralization Framework (NAF) supersedes an earlier auralization tool set developed for aircraft flyover noise auralization and serves as a basis for a future auralization plug-in for the NASA Aircraft Noise Prediction Program (ANOPP2). It is structured as a set of building blocks in the form of dynamic link libraries, so that other soundscapes, e.g., those involving ground transportation, wind turbines, etc., and other use cases, e.g., inverse problems, may easily be accommodated The NAF allows users to access auralization capabilities in several ways. The NAF's built-in functionality may be exercised utilizing either basic (e.g., console executable) or advanced (e.g., MATLAB, LabView, etc.) host environments. The NAF’s capabilities can also be extended by augmenting or replacing major activities through programming its open architecture. In this regard, it is envisioned that third parties will develop plug-in capabilities to augment those included in the NAF.