---
title: "A Beam Tracing Method for Interactive Architectural Acoustics"
authors: ["Thomas Funkhouser", "Nicolas Tsingos", "Ingrid Carlbom", "Gary Elko", "Mohan Sondhi", "James E. West", "Gopal Pingali", "Patrick Min", "Addy Ngan"]
year: 2004
venue: "Journal of the Acoustical Society of America"
arxiv: null
doi: "10.1121/1.1640866"
source: "https://doi.org/10.1121/1.1640866"
topics: [beam-tracing, interactive]
seed_rank: 1702
seed_batch: "audio-harvest-2026-09-09"
reviewed: "2026-09-09"
pool: "realtime"
relevance_score: 10
lineage: interactive-sound-propagation
cites:
  - title: "A Beam Tracing Approach to Acoustic Modeling for Interactive Virtual Environments"
    url: "https://doi.org/10.1145/280814.280818"
    year: 1998
    arxiv: null
    doi: "10.1145/280814.280818"
  - title: "Modeling Acoustics in Virtual Environments Using the Uniform Theory of Diffraction"
    url: "https://doi.org/10.1145/383259.383323"
    year: 2001
    arxiv: null
    doi: "10.1145/383259.383323"
see:
  - "1667-a-beam-tracing-approach-to-acoustic-modeling-for-interactive-virtual"
  - "1668-modeling-acoustics-in-virtual-environments-using-the-uniform-theory-of"
---

# A Beam Tracing Method for Interactive Architectural Acoustics

## One-sentence takeaway

Funkhouser et al. 2004 JASA: beam tracing for *interactive architectural acoustics* — the journal-scale system paper after SIGGRAPH 1998.

## Why it matters here

1667 is the graphics splash; 1702 is the acoustics-journal architecture (Bell Labs + Princeton). Use this when you need the system details (beam tree, auralization loop) rather than the SIGGRAPH figures.

## Key ideas

- **Interactive architectural.** Design-tool rates, not offline CATT.
- **Beam tracing mature.** Same unfolding idea, more engineering.
- **JASA 2004.** ~231 cites in harvest.
- **Specular GA.** Diffraction still the 2001 UTD paper unless combined.

## Caveats

Not a wave bake. 2004 CPU. Don't mint twice with 1667 — this is the JASA sibling, kept because the harvest ranked both as keepers with different venues.

## Links

- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1121/1.1640866