Virtual Acoustic Prototypes: listening to machines that don't exist
Andy T. Moorhouse · 2005
The concept of Virtual Acoustic Prototypes (VAPs) is explained and is illustrated with examples. A VAP is a computer representation of a machine (e.g. a lawnmower), such that it can be heard without it necessarily having to exist as a physical assembly. It is argued that, whereas visualisation tools are well developed in the field of visual design, equivalent tools for auralisation, such as VAPs, are still in their infancy. Examples of VAPs for a fridge, a telecommunications base station and a washing machine are presented, through which it becomes clear that considerable sophistication is required to include all the various excitation and transmission mechanisms found in real machines. It is explained that VAPs cannot be purely ‘virtual’ and that some measured data will be needed for the foreseeable future, particularly to characterise active components. Some of the advantages of working with VAPs are outlined.