Head-related transfer functions via the fast multipole accelerated boundary element method

Computation of head‐related transfer functions (HRTF) via geometrical meshes and numerical methods has been suggested by a number of authors. An issue facing this approach is the large computational time needed for high frequencies, where the discretization must include hundreds of thousands of elements. Conventional computational methods are unable to achieve such computations without excessive time or memory. We use a newly developed fast multipole accelerated boundary element method (FMM/BEM) that scales linearly both in time and memory. The method is applied to the mesh of the widely used KEMAR manikin and its HRTF computed up to 20 kHz. The results are compared with available experimental measurements.