On high resolution head-related transfer function measurements: An efficient sampling scheme

Abstract

This paper deals with two important questions associated with HRTF measurement: 1) "what is the required angular resolution?," and 2) "what is the most suitable sampling scheme?." The paper shows that a well-defined finite number of spherical harmonics can capture the head-related transfer function (HRTF) spatial variations in sufficient detail, which is defined as the HRTF spatial dimensionality. For the 20-kHz audible frequency range, the value of the dimensionality means a high-directional resolution HRTF measurement is required. Considering such a high-resolution measurement, a number of sampling criteria have been identified from both mechanical setup and data processing aspects. Different sampling candidates are then compared to demonstrate that the best method which satisfies all requirements is the class termed as IGLOO. A fast spherical harmonic transform algorithm based on the IGLOO scheme is developed to accelerate the high-resolution data analysis. The proposed method is validated through simulation and experimental data acquired from a KEMAR mannequin.