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Coordinates System

Coordinate Systems

With HOLOPHONIX, there are two ways to define an object’s (source or speaker) spatial position in relation to its origin: with navigational coordinates ("a,e,d"-type) or with Cartesian coordinates ("x,y,z"-type).

Cartesian

Using the Cartesian coordinates , the object’s position is given on the following axes:

  • X: left to right,
  • Y: rear to front,
  • Z: bottom to top.

They are all expressed in meters and range from -100m to +100m.

cartesian coordinatescartesian coordinates

Using the Navigational Coordinates , the object’s position is defined with:

  • the Azimuth: the object’s horizontal angle, in degrees — [-180°, +180°].
  • the Elevation: the object’s vertical angle, in degrees — [-180°, +180°].
  • the Distance: the physical length between the object and the origin, in meters — [-100m, +100m].
navigational coordinatesnavigational coordinates

3D Orientation

The orientation of 3D objects (virtual sources and speakers), can be modified on the following rotation axes:

  • Pan: horizontal orientation, around the vertical z-axis,
  • Tilt: vertical orientation, around the transverse y-axis,
  • Rotatebutton: sets the lateral angle of the 3D object to 90°

Rotation Angles

The rotation of an Ambisonic stream can be modified on the following rotation axes:

  • Yaw: horizontal orientation, around the vertical z-axis,
  • Pitch: vertical orientation, around the transverse y-axis,
  • Roll: lateral orientation, around the lateral x-axis.

Values entered on the [0°, 360°] scale will be automatically converted to the [-180°, +180] scale.

Quaternions

To ease computations and smooth head movement tracking, the listener's head orientation for Binaural or Monitoring buses is controlled using quaternion mathematical standard. Yaw, Pitch and Roll parameters has to be converted to quaternions before being applied to the head position.

Quaternions represent rotation as (x, y, z, w). They allow seamless transformations between Euler angles and 3D orientation without singularities. x, y, z, w are all real floating point numbers between 0 and 1.