Display system for distribution of virtual image sources by using mixed reality technology

The closely located four-point microphone method was proposed by Yamasaki in 1989. The method can grasp the spatial and temporal structures of sound reflections by estimating a distribution of image sources from four measured impulse responses. In recent years, mixed reality (MR) technology has rapidly developed and is now more familiar. Many sensors, display devices, and ICT technologies have been implemented in MR equipment, which enable interaction between real and virtual worlds. In this paper, we propose an MR display system for distribution of image sources and directivity patterns of sound reflection, which are obtained by the closely located four-point microphone method. The user can view a real room and the data representation simultaneously by using the MR display. Thus, the user can observe the spatial and temporal structures of sound reflections from any direction and any distance while maintaining a relationship between the positional information of the real room and the data. In addition, the user can view the data with arbitrary scale with the spatial map of the measured room. Thus, the size of the data appearance can be changed by the user. Furthermore, the system can show multiple data sets side-by-side for comparison.