IRIS: Continuous Spatial Navigation of Measured Acoustic Fields via Impulse Response Interpolation
Impulse response (IR) collections are useful in virtual acoustics, sound design, and field-based acoustic research, but they remain difficult to explore as continuous resources in lightweight real-time plugin workflows. This demo paper presents IRIS, a VST3 plugin for arranging, navigating, and auditioning measured or user-defined IR collections in a two-dimensional navigation plane. Each IR is represented as a node whose position can be imported from metadata or assigned manually. During navigation, nearby responses are combined using Gaussian distance-based weighting, while a bounded active set limits the number of simultaneous convolutions. The system also includes smoothing, hysteresis, optional preprocessing, boundary attenuation, OSC control, and coupled multichannel handling. The demo focuses on workflow and audible behavior rather than perceptual validation. A short timing characterization reports practical real-time limits as a function of IR length, buffer size, and active-set size. IRIS is presented as a practical tool for exploratory, analytical, and creative navigation of IR collections rather than as a physically optimal interpolation method.