Public defence in Computer Science, M.Sc. Julie Meyer

Opponent: Professor Damian Murphy, University of York, England
Custos: Professor Tapio Lokki, Aalto University School of Science, Department of Computer Science

The public defence will be organised on campus.

The thesis is publicly displayed 10 days before the defence in the publication archive Aaltodoc of Aalto University.

Electronic thesis

Public defence announcement:

This study focuses on the analysis of the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method in the context of room acoustics applications. In this context, the FDTD method consists in numerically solving the linear acoustic wave equation by means of finite-difference approximations. More specifically, this study focuses on the evaluation of the discretization error, which is a numerical error inherently and predominantly present in the FDTD method, from both numerical and perceptual viewpoints.

The study is relevant to any research using the FDTD method as a means of simulating acoustic scenarios, especially when the simulated solutions are employed for auralizations purposes. Amongst the results of the study, guidelines are provided to generate FDTD solutions that are perceptually free of audible artefacts for binaural auralizations of rooms, and a procedure assessing the numerical accuracy of FDTD-computed solutions for the problem of head-related transfer function prediction is proposed. The study also compares FDTD-simulated data with measurement data as well simulated data from another numerical method to provide better understanding on the capabilities and limitations of FDTD solvers to solve room acoustics problems.

Contact details of the doctoral student: [email protected]