From: ap207nra@venus.ycc.yale.edu
Subject: "Virtual Sound"?
Date: 16 Feb 91 01:12:52 EST
Message-ID: <810.27bc8714@venus.ycc.yale.edu>
Organization: Yale Computer Center (YCC)


I am curious as to whether any VR systems currently make use of sound cues 
along with the 3D visual image?  Specifically, I am interested in the
current research being done on 3-dimensional sound production (virtual sound?).
When I say 3-D sound, I mean sound that can be localized in 3-D from signals
coming from stereo headphones.  A friend of mine said that this is difficult
to achieve because of the variance of the pinnae from one person to another,
which influences our sound localization.

It seems to me that virtual sound would be a useful contribution to a
succesful VR system.  I imagine that VR could do without it, though, perhaps
using simply a quadrophonic stereo system instead.  
using quadrophonic stereo instead.  
If anyone knows where I can find more information on research being done
on "virtual sound", please let me know.

Thanks,

Neil Aronoff
Cognitive Psychology
Yale University
(aroneir@yalevm.bitnet)