Shaoheng Xu
PhD Candidate · The Australian National University

Shaoheng Xu

Audio & Acoustic Signal Processing

Researching spatial audio rendering, sparse sound field reconstruction, and acoustic source tracking — bridging signal theory, spherical harmonic analysis, and deep learning.

About

Biography

I am a PhD candidate in the Research School of Engineering at the Australian National University, supervised by Prof. Thushara Abhayapala, Dr. Jihui (Aimee) Zhang, and Prof. Prasanga Samarasinghe.

My research focuses on audio and acoustic signal processing — in particular, how to represent, decompose, and reconstruct sound fields from sparse microphone observations, how to render immersive spatial audio for binaural and surround playback, and how to track moving sound sources in dynamic acoustic environments.

In 2025, I interned at Tencent Music Entertainment (QQ Music) in Shenzhen, designing and developing a production spatial audio renderer for Premium Panoramic Sound 3.0.

I hold a First-Class Honours B.E. from ANU, double-majored in Electronic & Communication Systems and Mechatronic Systems.

Research Interests
Sound field representation & reconstruction
Spatial audio rendering (binaural & surround)
Room impulse response reconstruction & estimation
Acoustic source localization & tracking
Sparse signal processing & compressed sensing
Education
Ph.D. Engineering, ANU, 2021 – present
B.E. (First-Class Honours), ANU, 2017 – 2021
Technical Skills
PythonMATLAB PyTorchC SQLVerilog/HDL AssemblyLaTeX

Publications

HRIR-FORMER teaser
2026 Interspeech 2026
HRIR-Former: Grid-Free Time-Domain Reconstruction of Head-Related Impulse Responses with a Spatially Encoded Transformer
S. Xu, C. Sun, J. A. Zhang, A. Bastine, P. N. Samarasinghe, T. D. Abhayapala, H. Li
RIR-FORMER teaser
2026 ICASSP 2026
RIR-FORMER: Coordinate-guided transformer for continuous reconstruction of room impulse responses
S. Xu, C. Sun, J. A. Zhang, P. N. Samarasinghe, T. D. Abhayapala
PATHRIR teaser
2026 IWAENC 2026
PathRIR: Physics-Guided Acoustic Path Selection and Late-Tail Compensation for Fast Room Impulse Response Simulation
S. Xu, C. Sun, J. A. Zhang, A. Bastine, P. N. Samarasinghe, T. D. Abhayapala
3D gradient-based sound source tracking teaser
2025 APSIPA ASC 2025
Three-dimensional gradient-based tracking of multiple sound sources
S. Xu, W.-T. Lai, Y. A. Zhang, J. A. Zhang, A. Bastine, P. N. Samarasinghe, T. D. Abhayapala
DOI: 10.1109/APSIPAASC65261.2025.11249221 ↗
Sparse sound field complex OMP teaser
2024 ICASSP 2024
Sparse sound field representation using complex orthogonal matching pursuit
S. Xu, J. A. Zhang, T. D. Abhayapala, A. Bastine, W.-T. Lai, P. N. Samarasinghe
DOI: 10.1109/ICASSP48485.2024.10445940 ↗
Iterative complex OMP broadband sound field teaser
2024 IWAENC 2024
Iterative and complex orthogonal matching pursuit for broadband sparse sound field reconstruction
S. Xu, J. A. Zhang, T. Abhayapala, A. Bastine, P. Samarasinghe
DOI: 10.1109/IWAENC61483.2024.10694286 ↗
Spherical sector harmonics teaser
2024 Journal Applied Sciences, vol. 14
Limitations and performance analysis of spherical sector harmonics for sound field processing
H. Bi, S. Xu, F. Ma, T. D. Abhayapala, P. N. Samarasinghe
DOI: 10.3390/app142210633 ↗
Narrowband source localization teaser
2024 ICASSPW 2024
A two-step approach for narrowband source localization in reverberant rooms
W.-T. Lai, L. Birnie, T. Abhayapala, A. Bastine, S. Xu, P. Samarasinghe
DOI: 10.1109/ICASSPW62465.2024.10627696 ↗
Virtual navigation distributed sound sources teaser
2023 Forum Acusticum 2023
Virtual navigation via higher order distributed sound sources
T. Abhayapala, J. Zhang, S. Xu, D. Alon, Z. Ben-Hur, P. Samarasinghe
DOI: 10.61782/fa.2023.0942 ↗
Work History

Experience

Jul – Nov 2025 Tencent Music Entertainment logo
Audio Effects Development Intern
QQ Music · Tencent Music Entertainment Group · Shenzhen
Designed and developed a spatial audio renderer supporting binaural and surround formats for one of the world's largest music streaming platforms.
Apr 2026 Australian National University logo
Guest Lecturer
ENGN2218 Electronic Systems and Design · The Australian National University
Delivered a guest lecture introducing audio and acoustic signal processing as a signal chain, from sound field measurement using microphones and transducers, through filtering, ADC/DAC, and digital signal processing, to acoustic output.
Aug 2021 – present Australian National University logo
PhD Candidate
Research School of Engineering · The Australian National University
Researching audio and acoustic signal processing, with a focus on sparse sound field decomposition and reconstruction, spatial audio rendering, continuous RIR reconstruction using transformer networks, and 3D tracking of multiple moving sound sources.
Feb 2020 – present Australian National University logo
Teaching Assistant
School of Engineering · The Australian National University
Supporting undergraduate and postgraduate students across eight engineering courses.
COMP2610 Information Theory ENGN2228 Signals & Systems ENGN3226 Digital Communications ENGN4537 Digital Signal Processing ENGN4536 Wireless Communications ENGN4213 Digital Systems ENGN2219 Computer Architecture ENGN1218 Electronics
Feb – Mar 2017 Ninebot logo
R&D Intern
Ninebot (Beijing) Tech Co., Ltd. · Beijing

Awards & Honours

2021
First Class Honours (H1)
College of Engineering and Computer Science, The Australian National University
2020
Humanitarian Innovation Award
University of Sydney
2018
Chancellor's Letters of Commendation
The Australian National University
Prof. Thushara Abhayapala
Prof. Thushara Abhayapala
Professor, Research School of Engineering
The Australian National University
thushara.abhayapala@anu.edu.au
Dr. Jihui Aimee Zhang
Dr. Jihui (Aimee) Zhang
Assistant Professor, EECS
The University of Queensland
jihuiaimee.zhang@uq.edu.au
Prof. Prasanga Samarasinghe
Prof. Prasanga Samarasinghe
Associate Professor, Research School of Engineering
The Australian National University
prasanga.samarasinghe@anu.edu.au

Get in touch

Open to research collaborations, academic discussions, and opportunities in spatial audio and acoustic signal processing.