On Monday, February 26, we had the pleasure of welcoming Professor Shuichi Sakamoto from Tohoku University to the International Workshop on Immersive 3D Sound.
Our laboratory hosted this international workshop for the entire KAIST community and audio researchers keen on learning the latest in 3D audio and binaural technology. This workshop was a collaborative effort with the Smart Sound Systems Lab (KAIST EE), HUMAN Lab (KAIST ME), and REIC (Tohoku University). The program featured a keynote from Professor Shuichi Sakamoto and presentations by three distinguished KAIST professors leading advanced immersive audio research.
The event attracted not only KAIST students and professors but also researchers and students from all over Korea interested in sound, totaling over 70 participants.
Prof. Sungyoung Kim presented his research on the differing preferences for binaural music sources between audio experts and general listeners, titled “Towards the Individualization of Binaural Music Reproduction.”
Prof. Yong-Hwa Park focused on his research titled “Human Auditory System-Inspired Sound Event Detection and 3D Localization for Humanoid Robots,” which explores intelligent machines that autonomously recognize human conditions and surrounding events through sound.
Prof. Jung-Woo Choi introduced a speech enhancement algorithm that excels in noise and reverberation removal using a latest deep learning model, in his presentation titled “Revolutionizing Spatial Audio with Transformer Models.”
Furthermore, Professor Shuichi Sakamoto lectured trends in research related to head-related transfer functions (HRTFs), known as the key to spatial hearing, in his presentation “Toward 3D Binaural Technology Compatible with Human’s Auditory Space Perception.” He also discussed the generation of HRTFs using neural networks and binaural synthesis with spherical microphone arrays.
Additionally, the AIRIS lab and SmartSound Lab each conducted demonstrations related to 3D sound.
The workshop concluded with an after-party hosted by Professor Sakamoto and the organizing laboratories, fostering expectations for various collaborations and joint research among KAIST’s leading labs in the study of 3D sound.
Our lab plans to organize more workshops related to 3D sound this year. We are currently planning a masterclass on 3D sound recording in early May. Stay tuned for more details.