  Lossius et. al introduced the distance-based amplitude panning algorithm, or
DBAP, to enable flexibility of loudspeaker placement in artistic and scientific
contexts. The algorithm allows for arbitrary loudspeaker locations in a 2D
plane so that a virtual sound source may navigate the 2D space. The gains for
each speaker are calculated as a function of the source's distance to each
loudspeaker, thus creating a sound field. This gives the listener the
impression of a source moving through the field of loudspeakers. This paper
introduces a heuristically developed robust variation of DBAP that corrects for
faulty assumptions in the implementation of Lossius. Specifically, this paper
develops a method for working with sound sources outside the field of
loudspeakers in which the Lossius version produces distorted aural impressions
and wildly undulating amplitudes caused by spatial discontinuities in the gains
of the various loudspeakers. In smoothing the spatial impression of the virtual
source, we are also able to eliminate the calculation of the convex hull
entirely, a necessary component of the original implementation. This
significantly simplifies and reduces the calculations required for any space in
either two or three dimensions.
