Increasing Accessibility of Auditory Research: A 6-DoF Motion-Capture-Based Interface for Localisation Testing

Sochaczewska K, Rudzki T, McLoughlin M, Kearney G. Increasing Accessibility of Auditory Research: A 6-DoF Motion-Capture-Based Interface for Localisation Testing. In: AVARIG 2026: Audio for Virtual and Augmented Reality and Immersive Games. Audio Engineering Society; 2026. Paper 480. Available from: https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23372

@inproceedings{Sochaczewska2026_23372,
  author = {Sochaczewska, Katarzyna and Rudzki, Tomasz and McLoughlin, Michael and Kearney, Gavin},
  title = {{Increasing Accessibility of Auditory Research: A 6-DoF Motion-Capture-Based Interface for Localisation Testing}},
  booktitle = {AVARIG 2026: Audio for Virtual and Augmented Reality and Immersive Games},
  note = {Paper 480},
  year = {2026},
  month = jun,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  url = {https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23372}
}

TY  - CPAPER
TI  - Increasing Accessibility of Auditory Research: A 6-DoF Motion-Capture-Based Interface for Localisation Testing
AU  - Sochaczewska, Katarzyna
AU  - Rudzki, Tomasz
AU  - McLoughlin, Michael
AU  - Kearney, Gavin
T2  - AVARIG 2026: Audio for Virtual and Augmented Reality and Immersive Games
M1  - Paper 480
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/30
UR  - https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23372
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - Perceptual evaluation of auditory localisation typically relies on graphical user interfaces, pointing devices, or touch screens to capture listener responses. These modalities implicitly require functional vision and/or manual dexterity, excluding participation of, for instance, people with visual impairments. This paper presents a solution for absolute sound-source localisation testing that uses head rotation, tracked by a six-degrees-of-freedom (6-DoF) optical motion-capture system as the response interface and relies solely on auditory cues for calibration and pointing. The paradigm builds on the natural coupling between auditory spatial attention and head orientation. Individual systematic bias is characterised via a mandatory training block in which stimuli are presented at discrete loudspeaker positions. A per-participant linear regression fitted to head-centred training responses provides a bias model that is applied to main-experiment trials, enabling decomposition of localisation error (LE) into constant error (CE, reflecting accuracy) and random error (RE, reflecting precision), following the established accuracyprecision framework for spatial hearing assessment. The specific use case simulates off-sweet-spot listening positions to inform development of a renderer aimed at enhancing the experience of visually impaired audiences consuming audio-described broadcast content. Preliminary data from the control group consisting of sighted participants are presented. The interface design, calibration procedure, and analysis pipeline are offered as a contribution towards inclusive spatial audio evaluation practice.
ER  -