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PERSPECTIVE article

Front. Virtual Real.
Sec. Technologies for VR
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/frvir.2024.1442774
This article is part of the Research Topic A Metaverse for the Good: Design, Application and Understanding View all 10 articles

Audio technology for improving social interaction in extended reality

Provisionally accepted
Joanna Luberadzka Joanna Luberadzka 1*Enric Gusó Muñoz Enric Gusó Muñoz 1,2Umut Sayin Umut Sayin 1Adan Garriga Torres Adan Garriga Torres 1
  • 1 Eurecat (Spain), Barcelona, Spain
  • 2 Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    In recent years, extended reality (XR) has gained interest as a platform for human communication, with the emergence of the "Metaverse" promising to reshape social interactions. At the same time, concerns about harmful behavior and criminal activities in virtual environments have increased. This paper explores the potential of technology to support social harmony within XR, focusing specifically on audio aspects.We introduce the concept of acoustic coherence and discuss why it is crucial for smooth interaction. We further explain the challenges of speech communication in XR, including noise and reverberation, and review sound processing methods to enhance the auditory experience. We also comment on the potential of using virtual reality as a tool for the development and evaluation of audio algorithms aimed at enhancing communication. Finally, we present the results of a pilot study comparing several audio enhancement techniques inside a virtual environment.

    Keywords: social interaction, Extended Reality, virtual acoustic simulation, Acoustic matching, Speech enhancement

    Received: 02 Jun 2024; Accepted: 31 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Luberadzka, Muñoz, Sayin and Torres. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Joanna Luberadzka, Eurecat (Spain), Barcelona, Spain

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.