Or maybe it was his MC?
I cannot answer this question. And it's not the point of this post.
This is the point of this post: I _also_ love technology, though you might notice I spell it slightly differently, and I have a preference for the audio-related variety.
Look at these words.
3D audio.
Sounds cool right? It is! Everyday, those of us with two working ears use our sound localisation skills to navigate our way around this planet, exploit the cocktail party effect to pinpoint preferred sound sources and enjoy surround sound audio to enhance the movie-watching experience. That's 3D audio.
Headphones immediately remove all that enjoyment and reduce the listeners' experience to a simple stereo affair, with no relationship to the outside world; no more than you would expect, of course!
Here at the MachineMen labs, we began to re-explore (after taking an initial look some years ago) Ambisonics - simply put, a technology which offers 3D recording, improved spacialisation when played through speakers (compared to basic quadraphonic and other surround sound formats) and appears to be endlessly future-compatible! Now this last one is good, I know it.
Soundfield microphones are used to capture the spaces on to (simply put) many mono audio tracks. These tracks are then passed through some clever maths to translate to your preferred listening format; mono, stereo, quadraphonic, 5.1, 7.1... and binaural. Binaural is my favourite - it outputs the audio in a form which, when playing back on headphones, puts your ears in same position as the microphone.
Here at the MachineMen labs we imagined what it might be like to bring together head-tracking information and this incredible 3D sound technology. To be able to explore a 3D recording by just turning your head, was the vision. In the last few days I have achieved full 360 degree rotational-tracking in all 3 axis using a GyrOSC on the iPhone (to send compass data for Yaw), and a Wiimote's MotionPlus for Pitch and Roll.
Please excuse the packing tape:
This rotation data is sent over OSC (bluetooth and wireless), managed by Osculator, and sent to Plogue Bodule hosting a small selection of TOA plugins. After calibrating the 'front' of the signal, movements of the head are translated into rotation values and attached to the relevant rotation parameters of the plugin.
When listening to material which was recorded on a Soundfield microphone (for example, an orchestra, where the microphone is placed in the centre seat in the front row), turning around 180 degrees reveals the reflections off the back wall, turning slightly to the right centres the mid/lower string section, and bending down to pull up my socks sounds like the orchestra are actually.. over there, in front of me.
Field recordings of street musicians can be explored by simply looking around, elements you might not normally hear can become your focus; feet tapping just behind, a plane soaring far above, the inane conversation to your right.
There are many Ambisonic recordings and productions available on Ambisonia, and here at the MachineMen labs we have plans to record and produce our own, and more importantly, develop the head-tracking technology into something more wearable and a lot lighter! We are also working on an experience fusing together 3D sound and vision, the likes of which have not been seen before, as part of our Oculus Rift line. Now that's going to be exciting.
Hope you are excited as we are about the future of 3D audio and it's integration in to the virtual world!
Thanks for reading.
More updates soon!
Matthew
