9. Next Semester: Bringing the Prototype to the Physical Room
The next step is to bring the project back to the physical room. The current prototype gives an idealised direct-sound condition. The CUBE will add the things that are deliberately missing: reflections, reverberation, room response, loudspeaker behaviour, source directivity, modal effects and real listener perception.
The goal is not to prove that the auralisation is “better” or that the real room is “worse”. That would be the wrong question. The more interesting question is: what changes when the same source layout moves from a controlled headphone-based auralisation into a physical multi-loudspeaker environment?
To make this comparison meaningful, the next semester needs a clearer method. One possible approach is to create selected source layouts in the GUI, then recreate equivalent layouts in the CUBE. The same or similar sine-tone frequency sets can be used, such as 440 Hz, 444 Hz, 448 Hz and related intervals. This keeps the connection to the original superposition idea.
For measurement, I do not want to claim a complete protocol yet. But the basic plan would be to use fixed source and listener positions. Level could be measured with a measurement microphone at selected listener positions and compared with the calculated direct-sound attenuation. Delay or time of flight could be checked using short impulse-like test signals and looking at the first arrival. The later reflections would then show what the room adds beyond the direct path.
Perception will also matter. The system can predict level and delay, but the listener may experience the physical room differently because of reflections, beating, instability or localisation changes. This is where a listening-test method could become important. It should focus on movement, localisation, beating and perceived spatial stability.
The game/interface side project may or may not connect to the thesis later. During the semester, I became interested in the PyGame controller and even made a Doom-like game, later moving it to Godot. That is not the main thesis right now, but it influenced how I think about movement and interaction. Maybe there will be a connection later; maybe not. For now, the safest thesis direction is the comparison between controlled direct-sound auralisation and real-room behaviour.
The project has reached a working baseline. The next step is to test what this baseline can reveal when it meets the physical space again.
