A three dimensional children head database for acoustical research and development

Most computational-acoustic work within spatial hearing relies on head-related transfer functions from databases of measurements taken on adult humans or dummy heads. We aim to provide a set of 3D digital heads including children, from which head-related transfer functions can be computed instead of measured.

However, current volumetric scanning techniques do not have sufficient resolution for accurately scanning the external ear, and computed tomography also involves radiation. In this paper we propose a framework for scanning, stitching and meshing complete human heads. The process starts by acquisition of multiple 3D surface scans of the same subject using a high-resolution photogrammetric scanner.

Secondly, the scans are semi-automatically aligned and noise and incoherence is removed. This is followed by an iterative process where a volumetric implicit representation of the head is optimized. The process consists of a regularized surface reconstruction step followed by an alignment step. Finally, a surface representation of the entire head is extracted using a triangulation of the zero-level iso-surface of the implicit volume.

The process has been used to reconstruct the heads of children aged 10 months to 9 years. The data and the associated reconstruction algorithms will be made publicly available for use in acoustical research and development.