Simulation of the head-related transfer functions using cloud computing

Due to the complexity of measurements for obtaining individual head-related transfer functions (HRTFs), numerical simulations offer an attractive alternative for generating large HRTF data bases. In this study, HRTFs are simulated using a fast multipole boundary element method (BEM). The BEM is well suited for the HRTF simulations. Namely, only the surface of the model geometry is discretized which simplifies the pre-processing compared to other full-wave simulation methods (such as finite element and finite difference methods). The BEM is formulated in frequency domain and the model is solved separately for each frequency. Since a large number of frequencies is needed in wide-band HRTF simulations, the BEM simulation greatly benefits from distributed (or parallel) computing. That is, a single computing unit takes care of a single frequency. In this study, a distributed BEM using cloud computing is introduced. Simulations are computed in a public cloud (Amazon EC2) using a realistic head and torso geometr...