3D Particle Systems for Audio Applications

Nuno Fonseca
DAFx-2013 - Maynooth
Although particle systems are well know for their use in computer graphics, their application in sound is very rare or almost non-existent. This paper presents a conceptual model for the use of particle systems in audio applications, using a full rendering system with virtual microphones: several virtual particles are spread over a virtual 3D space, where each particle reproduces one of the available audio streams (or a modified version), and the overall sound is captured by virtual microphones. Such system can be used on several audio-related areas like sound design, 3D mixing, reverb/impulse response design, granular synthesis, audio up-mixing, and impulse response up-mixing.
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