Computer Simulation of HRTFs for Personalization of 3D Audio

To give listeners a vivid sense of 3D spatial audio, virtual auditory display technology relies crucially on head related transfer functions (HRTFs). However, as each person has unique morphological characteristics of their head and ears, for a realistic auditory experience it is important to use personalized HRTFs. Our approach to HRTF personalization is first to measure a listener´s head and ear morphology, currently by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); then to use the 3D morphological data in computer simulation of sound wave propagation, by the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. This paper summarizes our methods and recent improvements, which have led to obtaining more faithful, personalized HRTFs by FDTD simulation.