The IHA database of human geometries including torso, head and complete outer ears for acoustic research

摘要

With the advent of virtual acoustic environments, several databases with 3D geometries of human subjects have been published recently, fostering the spirit of reproducible science. These databases contain geometries corresponding to their intended application: Torso and head geometries closed at the entrances of the ear canals are sufficient for the calculation of head related transfer functions. Surfaces of pinnae with extension of medially open ear canals of human subjects are valuable for the investigation of pinna-related transfer functions. However, the mentioned geometries exclude investigations on individual acoustics in the entire ear canal with eardrum. In order to develop acoustically open in-ear hearing systems, sound field analyses in the individual ear canal, with coupled external sound fields, are of interest. For this purpose, a database of individual 3D geometries consisting of torso, head and complete outer ears including the entire ear canals up to the eardrums is being created and made available to the scientific public. In this contribution, the creation of the geometries from different 3D acquisition tools (MRI, optical 3D scanners) is described and first results of acoustic analyses employing the finite and boundary element method are discussed.