A Stochastic Model of the Acoustic Response inside the Cabin of an Automobile

Personal sound zone (PSZ) systems enable personalized audio contents in various sound regions, that are specified by groups of control points (microphones) properly placed in a shared environment, for instance, the cabin of an automobile. To this purpose, advanced digital signal processing and proper hardware equipment, composed of loudspeakers and microphones, are required. The evaluation of the performance of PSZ systems can be carried out by measurements in the field or by means of numerical simulations. In both cases, for reliable performance estimation, repeated time-consuming measurements of the acoustic response inside the car cabin must be performed.In this paper, a stochastic model is proposed, aimed at generating several acoustic responses as random variations of an initial one. The performance estimated by the proposed model in terms of acoustic contrast (AC) is compared with that based on direct measurements in the vehicle and evaluated in realistic conditions. By proper adjustments of the parameters that describe the proposed model, the results show good prediction of the AC without the need of repeated measurements.