The effect of audio cues and sound source stimuli on the perception of approaching objects

Objects that move in depth on an approaching trajectory (looming) are often encountered in both the real and virtual worlds. Examples include navigating oncoming traffic, and sporting and gaming activities where judgements are made to avoid or attack approaching objects. How people react to looming objects may impact on their survival and progression in the real, virtual, and gaming worlds, and relies on a person’s ability to precisely interpret movement and depth cues. Psychological studies investigating auditory looming often depict an object’s movement using simple audio cues (primarily amplitude increase) which are applied to tones (often sine or triangle waves) which are not normally encountered in the natural world. Whilst these studies provide valuable information about human perception and responses, technological advances allow us to present complex auditory stimuli with a range of audio cues and real-world sound sources, and to collect measurements on human perception and responses to ecologically valid stimuli.