Procedural Modeling of Interactive Sound Sources in Virtual Reality

This chapter addresses the first building block of sonic interactions in virtual environments, i.e., the modeling and synthesis of sound sources. Our main focus is on procedural approaches, which strive to gain recognition in commercial applications and in the overall sound design workflow, firmly grounded in the use of samples and event-based logics. Special emphasis is placed on physics-based sound synthesis methods and their potential for improved interactivity. The chapter starts with a discussion of the categories, functions, and affordances of sounds that we listen to and interact with in real and virtual environments. We then address perceptual and cognitive aspects, with the aim of emphasizing the relevance of sound source modeling with respect to the senses of presence and embodiment of a user in a virtual environment. Next, procedural approaches are presented and compared to sample-based approaches, in terms of models, methods, and computational costs. Finally, we analyze the state of the art in current uses of these approaches for Virtual Reality applications.