About

The concept of interactive audio (IA) characterizes techniques designed to allow specifically created audio, placed in a given application, to react to user input and/or changes in the context.

The technology behind this concept can be applied to many software domains, such as games, guidance systems, dynamic music generators, audio soundscapes or Augmented Reality Audio (ARA) applications. The common denominator on all these examples is the need of an interchange format, along with an interoperable audio system able to play the interactive sound tracks.

Technology

We have developed an advanced interactive audio system based on two components:

Augmented Reality Audio (ARA) tools

Augmented Reality Audio is used in many mobile applications like geolocalized games, non-linear audio walking tours, navigation systems for visually impaired people. Different types of navigation will require different types of applications. For example, a mountain biker navigation application will be very different from a guidance application for visually impaired people.

The rendering of an ARA scene can be experimented through the use of bone conduction headsets, headphones with integrated microphones or earphones with acoustically transparent earpieces, with the audio being played by a mobile phone. ARA applications can be designed so that they do not interfere with the user practicing other activies, i.e., the application leaves the user's hands free and does not require visual attention from the user.

All of the three characteristics of an AR system set different requirements for ARA software and hardware.