Inside The Lab
Spatial Audio is at the forefront of conversations whether it be in music, gaming, television, or live events. This constant demand drives companies to hone their algorithm as the technological era pushes the envelope. Audioscenic, one of the leaders in 3D audio reproduction, explains their ever-evolving effort to deliver the most realistic spatial experience. So how does the team maintain momentum in an accelerated industry? The Southhampton-based company invited us into their research and development lab to speak with their team about what day-to-day operations in spatial audio is like.
Founded in 2017 by Marcos Simon and Filippo Fazi, Audioscenic emerged from a collaborative research project among three UK universities and the BBC, aiming to bring spatial audio into homes. Their Amphi AI Beamforming technology is designed for integration into existing products. While early prototypes spanned a range of form factors, the brand has since focused on spatial computing audio and automotive technology for sustainable revenue streams through licensed software.
We outlined two key areas including spatial computing audio and automotive technology to approach, which ensures that we are using the proper research resources to deliver a sustainable revenue stream through licensed software
Dan Wallace; Audioscenic’s Research and Development Lead
“We have developed a suite of in-house tools that we use to understand what processing and algorithms may be present in commercially available devices and plugins,” says Dan Wallace, Audioscenic’s Research and Development Lead. “To increase the potential reach of our technology, our engineers have their finger on the pulse of spatial audio development even outside of work.” This promotes the team to think, listen and test faster in order to remain in the race.
By focusing on aligning with mass-market partners to improve the sound in various Spatial Computing devices like laptops and monitors, the R&D department has a thruline. “While our technology shines brightest when paired with an array of loudspeakers, with two audio channel devices our algorithm enhances the audio quality despite small speakers through effects like psychoacoustic bass enhancement,” Wallace continues. The engineers have made numerous algorithmic improvements that are specific to devices with two audio channels.
Simple & Intuitive; The User Experience
The Audioscenic R&D team is comprised of a wide range of experts including Software, DSP and Computer vision teams. From the founders to the R&D personnel, each team member is not only passionate, but also holds a PhD or masters degree in spatial audio. The team actively attends academic and industrial conferences to learn from others in the field, but in addition they survey competitor products from an experiential and technical standpoint. “We have developed a suite of in-house tools that we use to understand what processing and algorithms may be present in commercially available devices and plugins,” says Dan Wallace, Audioscenic’s Research and Development Lead. “To increase the potential reach of our technology, our engineers have their finger on the pulse of spatial audio development even outside of work.” This promotes the team to think, listen and test faster in order to remain in the race.
Research at Audioscenic includes demos with consumers, internal stakeholders, and partners to showcase improvements and gather feedback for refining the experience. Wallace emphasizes, “For us, it is crucial that we put excellent tech into the problem while simultaneously looking to improve the user experience in a practical way.” He adds, “This means our technology needs to sound the best while also being implantable into a pre-existing product.” The team also seeks the ‘wow factor’ reaction from non-expert listeners, which goes beyond measurements and reveals the true user experience.
“As R&D engineers, we can be tempted to endlessly add features and customizability to our suite of products. However, we understand that for mass-market acceptance a simple and intuitive user interface is essential,” says Wallace. “We regularly evaluate the user experience of competitor products and applications to help us as we design user controls that are familiar, while still highlighting the distinctiveness of our user-tracked spatial audio functionality.”
Author’s Notes
It’s fascinating to learn how products are made, especially as technology advances. I’m excited to see how Audioscenic’s innovations will change the audio industry and what new things we might see. Are you thinking about upgrading your sound system with this new technology?
For more information about Audioscenic, check out their Official Website. You can also check out a review that covers the implementation and use Audioscenic’s technology in the Razer Leviathan V2.
