Doppler Simulation

It is well known that a time-varying delay line results in a frequency shift. Time-varying delay is often used, for example, to provide vibrato and chorus effects [1]. We therefore expect a time-varying delay-line to be capable of precise Doppler simulation.

Consider Doppler shift from a physical point of view. The air can be considered as analogous to a magnetic tape which moves from source to listener at speed $c$. The source is analogous to the write-head of a tape recorder, and the listener corresponds to the read-head. When the source and listener are fixed, the listener receives what the source records. When either moves, a Doppler shift is observed by the listener, according to Eq. (1).