Effective Algorithm to Control Depth Level for Performance Improvement of Sound Tracing

Sound tracing, a 3D sound rendering technology based on ray tracing, is a very costly method for calculating sound propagation. To reduce its expense, we propose an algorithm for adjusting the depth based on frame coherence and spatial characteristics. The results of the experiment indicate that when the sound source and listener were indoors, the reflection path loss rate was 3%, the diffraction path loss rate was 15.4%, and the total frame rate increased by 6.25%. When the listener was outdoors and the sound source was indoors, the reflection path and diffraction path loss rate were 0%, and the total frame rate was increased by 33.33 compared to the conventional method. Thus, the proposed algorithm can improve rendering performance while minimizing path loss rate.