Extraction of pinna features for customized binaural audio delivery on mobile devices

The paper presents a system for customized binaural audio delivery based on the extraction of the relevant features from a 2-D representation of the listener’s pinna. A procedure based on multi-flash imaging for recognizing the main contours of the pinna and their position with respect to the ear canal entrance is detailed. The resulting contours drive the parametrization of a structural head-related transfer function model that performs in real time the spatialization of a desired sound file according to the listener’s position with respect to the virtual sound source, tracked by sensor-equipped headphones. The low complexity of the model allows smooth implementation and delivery on any mobile device. The purpose of the desired system is to provide low-tech custom binaural audio to any user without the need of tedious and cumbersome subjective measurements.