Ubisense precise real-time location deployed with mobile devices for unique 3D audio experience

Cambridge, UK and Montreal, Canada. 28th April 2010. Ubisense announces that their unique award winning 3d precise real-time location solution has been deployed within the "Audio Graffiti" Installation at the 12 Biennial Symposium on Arts and Technology, New London, CT, where mobile users can create and experience a constantly evolving wall of graffiti.


Audio Graffiti no. 2 from Mike Wozniewski on Vimeo.



This unique arts/ science project is a collaboration between the iACT research group at the University of Montreal and the Centre for Intelligent Machines, at McGill University and Ubisense. The installation is set within an indoor “audio augmented” environment, where users can create and explore a continually evolving wall of audio graffiti, by overlaying the wall with audio clips in their precise 3D location.
Users are equipped with wireless headsets including a precise real-time position from Ubisense. The solution enables the users to be precisely tracked as they move around the space. As the user approaches the wall a precise spatial location is registered when one of the programmable buttons on the tag is pressed and a sound clip is recorded and attached to the wall at that position. The sound clips form a 3D audio image of sonic content in space.
Headsets allow the users to listen to the sound clips on the wall. By moving forwards and backwards, towards and away from the wall the user will hear sound clips from a narrower or wider area of the wall, similar to listening to foreground / background noise within a party or restaurant, by moving closer to the wall, the user will be able to “audio zoom” in and listen to an individual, defined sound clip. If the user walks along the wall from side to side, they are able to listen to a series of sound clips. The sound clips appear in the order they have been laid down, and will fade gradually over a period of time.
Created by a team of audio/visual engineers, and artistic director Zack Settel, the project is one of a number of audio-based arts/ science projects concentrating on spatialised audio rendering.
“The Ubisense precise real-time location solution provided us with the perfect vehicle for tracking movement around the wall and the indoor capture of high resolution data.” Commented Artistic Director, Zack Settel.
“We are delighted that we were able to deploy our unique solution at the University of Montreal and McGill University” said Jay Cadman, VP Sales and Marketing, Ubisense, “The Audio Graffiti project is a very sophisticated use of our technology and demonstrates the flexibility of Ubisense solutions.”