Head movement during head-related transfer function measurements

Abstract

In this work, head movements for three human subjects were measured simultaneously during head-related transfer function (HRTF) measurement for a period of 95 min each. The subjects’ heads moved in all directions during measurements. Excessive head movements were observed in the pitch and yaw directions. Head movements in the roll direction were small for all subjects. Specifically, the head position at the beginning and end of HRTF measurement differed by less than 1° in roll but by as much as 10° in pitch and yaw. Consequently, HRTFs for the front position measured at the beginning and the end of the measurement session differed by 4–6 dB in spectral distortion. These results reveal that when no head-support aids are used, HRTFs might contain large errors attributable to head movement.