Building-acoustics-TU-Eindhoven / EAVR-v2

EAVR-steam-audio

The Eindhoven Acoustic Virtual Reality (EAVR) project is part of an ongoing research in the Building Acoustics Group at the Built Environment Department of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). This project is based on previous work by A. Milo and M. Hornikx [1, 2]. The goal of this project is to interactively teach students principles in the field of acoustics, by changing various aspects of the VR environment. These aspects include

• Room size
• Source position
• Listener position (by walking around the room)
• Materials of the walls
• ..etc..

Releases

Working applications for Windows and Mac can be found via https://github.com/SilvinWillemsen/EAVR-steam-audio/releases/. The model that is loaded is the Trappenzaal in the Vertigo building at Eindhoven Univeristy of Technology.

Controls

• Right-click: toggle the control panel

When control panel is disabled:

• WASD: move
• Space bar: jump
• Left-click: Select wall to change material of.
• Shift + Left-click: Select multiple walls.

When the control panel is enabled:

• Choose material..: change the material of the currently selected wall(s). If no wall is selected ("Selected Wall: None"), the change in material will not have any effect.
• Room
  • scaling: change the scaling of the room in x, y and z direction individually (range: x0.5-x2.0).
• Source
  • < 1 >: Select source to edit.
  • Add source: Adds a source based on the currently selected source.
  • Remove source: Removes currently selected source.
  • Position: Change the position of the source as a ratio of the current room dimensions (range: 0-1).
  • Select Audio..: Select an audio file from the dropdown list.
  • < Gain = 0 dB >: Increase / decrease the gain of the currently selected source.
  • Buttons: In order of appearance:
    • Play: Plays the currently selected audio file through the currently selected source.
    • Pause: Pauses the currently selected source.
    • Stop: Stops the currently selected source.
    • Stop (Double click): Stops all sources.
    • Loop: Loops audio played by current source.
  • Saved observations: Shows a list of observations which are created after pressing the Save button.

1. Setup and Usage Instructions

1.1. Setting up Unity and opening the project

1. Download and install Unity Hub: https://unity.com/download
2. Download and install Unity version 2021.3.21f1: https://unity.com/releases/editor/qa/lts-releases
3. Clone this repository to a folder you can find.
4. From within Unity Hub 'Open' the project by selecting the folder you just cloned.
5. Once the project opened in the correct version of Unity, run it (the play button in the top) to test whether it works.

1.2. Loading a new 3D model

1. Select the GeometryManager GameObject in the Hierarchy window.
2. Click on the Load New Model button in the Inspector window.
3. Navigate to "Assets/Models/" and select one of the *.gltf files.
4. Go to "Assets/Scenes/" and select and load the scene SteamAudio.
5. Press play and enjoy your freshly loaded model!
6. Please refer to the controls above for instructions on how to use the application.

2. Creating your own model

1. Download the latest version of SketchUp: https://www.sketchup.com/try-sketchup
2. Open the Extension Warehouse via Extensions -> Extension Warehouse.
3. Find the glTF Export extension by Centaur (Khronos) and install. (Can also be found here: https://extensions.sketchup.com/extension/052071e5-6c19-4f02-a7e8-fcfcc28a2fd8/gl-tf-export)
4. Create a model following this video https://surfdrive.surf.nl/files/index.php/s/67aTHu1AYFVeHT0#/files_mediaviewer/CreateModelExample.mp4.
5. Export the model to .gltf using the glTF export extension and save it to somewhere you can find.
6. Load the model following the steps in Section 1.2.

3. Repository structure

The most important folders in this repository are shown below

• root
  • Assets

    • Audio

      A collection of audio files that are included in the application. (Please note that adding audio files here will not add them to the application.)

    • ⋮

    • Models

      A collection of .gltf files (3D models) that can be loaded into the application according to the instructions in Section 1.2.

    • ⋮

    • Scenes

      Contains the Unity scenes.

    • Scripts

      The C# scripts that form the main functionality of the application.

    • ⋮

  • ⋮

References

[1] A. Milo and M. Hornikx, "Acoustic Virtual Reality as a Learning Framework for Built Environment Students," Euronoise, 2021.

[2] A. Milo, "EAVR-EDU-release," GitLab Repository. Accessed 7 July 2023. [Online] Available: https://gitlab.tue.nl/building-acoustics-tue/eavr/eavr-edu-release/-/tree/v209