A multi-objective optimization approach for multi-zone control of sound fields with uniformity constraint

Personal audio systems have been studied extensively since their inception nearly three decades ago. Acoustic Contrast Control (ACC) method is extensively employed due to its capability to establish a distinct contrast in acoustic energy between bright and dark zones. But it fails to ensure a uniform sound field distribution within the bright zone, potentially compromising the auditory comfort experienced by users. To address this issue, some methods have proposed to integrated a bright zone consistency constraint into the ACC model. However, the same parameter across all frequency points are employed in these methods, resulting in the failure to find the optimal solution at many frequency points. In this study, a multi-objective optimization approach is introduced to find the optimal solution at each frequency point. A set of Pareto optimal solutions at each frequency point can be generated by the multi-objective optimization method. This set reflects the trade-off between the two objectives, and allows the decision maker to select the most appropriate solution for real applications based on the importance of the objectives. The goal programming method is adopted to do the selection. Simulation results within a car cabin demonstrate that the proposed method can balance the acoustic contrast and uniformity effectively. © 2024 Elsevier B.V.