30 May 2010
Wave Manipulations in Virtual Environments
June 05, 2010
Wave Manipulations in Virtual Environments
First let me say, I'm not an expert on the inner ear. I am a gamer, musician and audio enthusiast. My interests are not in changing the way our bodies process sound but changing how sound is created to be processed differently by our bodies. I've been on a quest lately to understand the characteristics and science of sound as it relates to the emotions of the listener. Most people understand how certain key and chord progressions can stir emotion in a listener. However, I am particularly excited about how composers are able to manipulate thought through sound in virtual worlds. I am interested in the intimate connection the composer or audio designer has on the listener. I am fascinated by the possibilities in creating audio for virtual worlds that inspire a greater sense of reality for the participant.
I’m not touching you
In virtual environments, the entire concept is designed to take the participant into a manufactured environment. Ambient sound plays a significant role in how the player or active participant feels about the immersive nature of the environment. Sounds that, "Touch" the listener, I mean actually "Touch" the listener is what interests me. Each sound that the human body hears actually touches and vibrates the cochlea in the inner ear. The cochlea is lined with sensitive hairs which trigger the generation of nerve signals that are sent to the brain. A sound that a composer generates and includes in an environment is actually "speaking" to the listener. This seems like a very intimate experience to be able to literally "Touch" the listener and make their brain react with a feeling what you want them to feel.
Beach or no beach
Have you ever sat on beach and closed your eyes? You hear the waves and the wind which are both ambient sounds that create a realism to the environment. Imagine having the same audio experience while sitting in bed. What makes it real for you is how accurate the sound is to the real experience. Imagine now a composer creating synthetic sound that manipulates you to thinking you are at the beach. What is carried in those sound waves is characteristics that actually speak from the composer or sound designer to the listener. What could be contained in those characteristics and how it could be used to create a stronger bond of communication to make the experience more real is intriguing.
Similar to other forms of data, waves of sound have a limited set of characteristics such as amplitude, wavelength, frequency, and wave speed. Waves can be manipulated with interference to create something more unique for the listener.
Adding in another number
Binary Code alphabet consists of zero's and one's. You only have two choices in a base 2 system. Computers can read zero's and one's. Sound has some similar limitations apparently. Certain characteristics are processed (amplitude, wavelength, frequency and wave speed). Other characteristics apparently do not exist (or haven’t been discovered). So the question remains, "How do we load sounds with more characteristics in order to establish a more personal connection between composer and listener and what do you load them with".
LRAD applications
One characteristic that has already been established is present today in the military and other installations. A significant amount of time in research and money has been spent to discover a way to "Hack your mind". The first real mind-altering sonic discovery aside from spacial sound is in non-lethal sound devices. Highly directional sound in a focused beam reflecting off surfaces. Elwood Norris has been working with audio for the past 30 years and discovered "focused sound waves". His applications have been used mostly for military purposes in crowd control. However, I did find another application that is exciting. Billboards are now directionally spotlighting audio to you as you walk down the street. This technology has been around for a number of years but shows the ability to "Sculpt" sound waves in order to speak to one individual on the street. Nobody else can hear the audio unless they are standing in your particular spot. Unlike surround, the recipient needs to be in a particular spot to hear the audio rather than hearing the audio around them in a particular spot.
LRAD used in virtual worlds
Bringing our discussion back into the realms of virtual worlds, LRAD (long range acoustical device) technology is very different from surround. Imagine being able to have speakers similar in shape to a disco ball with thousands of tiny panels that shot sound to certain parts of your room. Up in the corner there is a reflective surface that creates the sound of a waterfall. The left wall becomes a waterfall with the sound actually changing as it goes from the top of the wall to the base where water is collected. Imagine the sound of air rustling through the trees in various locations where trees actually exist in this virtual world. On the floor is the sound of water as it cascades down a lazy stream. As you walk down a path the sound of twigs breaking with every footstep. This technology makes it so the sound is positioned in a certain spot and when you physically move closer to the reflective surface, the sound only becomes louder - like real life. This also poses the question, could LRAD technology be used to create "Real world gaming environments" in combination with mobile devices like the iPad. Surely advertising will come first but, and has already with our A&E billboard example (video link below). One more interesting example of how LRAD could be used is in creating the ability to project audio in fine streams to reflective surfaces of the room so that you could create your own mix by simply walking through an environment. So many possibilities and this is only a first step in wave manipulation.
The ability to harness sound into a small cylindrical pipeline is not necessarily a coloration or addition to sound but it creates an interesting first step into conditioning sound waves to create more interesting environments.
Resources
http://www.texaseducator.com/family/jbouyer/lessons/Science/askew/mycourses/pwave.htm
Netflix: Music Instinct: Science and Song (currently under documentaries)
YouTube: Sound-waves and their sources (1933)
You Tube: LRAD Technology Billboard
www.pacifermusic.com
First let me say, I'm not an expert on the inner ear. I am a gamer, musician and audio enthusiast. My interests are not in changing the way our bodies process sound but changing how sound is created to be processed differently by our bodies. I've been on a quest lately to understand the characteristics and science of sound as it relates to the emotions of the listener. Most people understand how certain key and chord progressions can stir emotion in a listener. However, I am particularly excited about how composers are able to manipulate thought through sound in virtual worlds. I am interested in the intimate connection the composer or audio designer has on the listener. I am fascinated by the possibilities in creating audio for virtual worlds that inspire a greater sense of reality for the participant.
I’m not touching you
In virtual environments, the entire concept is designed to take the participant into a manufactured environment. Ambient sound plays a significant role in how the player or active participant feels about the immersive nature of the environment. Sounds that, "Touch" the listener, I mean actually "Touch" the listener is what interests me. Each sound that the human body hears actually touches and vibrates the cochlea in the inner ear. The cochlea is lined with sensitive hairs which trigger the generation of nerve signals that are sent to the brain. A sound that a composer generates and includes in an environment is actually "speaking" to the listener. This seems like a very intimate experience to be able to literally "Touch" the listener and make their brain react with a feeling what you want them to feel.
Beach or no beach
Have you ever sat on beach and closed your eyes? You hear the waves and the wind which are both ambient sounds that create a realism to the environment. Imagine having the same audio experience while sitting in bed. What makes it real for you is how accurate the sound is to the real experience. Imagine now a composer creating synthetic sound that manipulates you to thinking you are at the beach. What is carried in those sound waves is characteristics that actually speak from the composer or sound designer to the listener. What could be contained in those characteristics and how it could be used to create a stronger bond of communication to make the experience more real is intriguing.
Similar to other forms of data, waves of sound have a limited set of characteristics such as amplitude, wavelength, frequency, and wave speed. Waves can be manipulated with interference to create something more unique for the listener.
Adding in another number
Binary Code alphabet consists of zero's and one's. You only have two choices in a base 2 system. Computers can read zero's and one's. Sound has some similar limitations apparently. Certain characteristics are processed (amplitude, wavelength, frequency and wave speed). Other characteristics apparently do not exist (or haven’t been discovered). So the question remains, "How do we load sounds with more characteristics in order to establish a more personal connection between composer and listener and what do you load them with".
LRAD applications
One characteristic that has already been established is present today in the military and other installations. A significant amount of time in research and money has been spent to discover a way to "Hack your mind". The first real mind-altering sonic discovery aside from spacial sound is in non-lethal sound devices. Highly directional sound in a focused beam reflecting off surfaces. Elwood Norris has been working with audio for the past 30 years and discovered "focused sound waves". His applications have been used mostly for military purposes in crowd control. However, I did find another application that is exciting. Billboards are now directionally spotlighting audio to you as you walk down the street. This technology has been around for a number of years but shows the ability to "Sculpt" sound waves in order to speak to one individual on the street. Nobody else can hear the audio unless they are standing in your particular spot. Unlike surround, the recipient needs to be in a particular spot to hear the audio rather than hearing the audio around them in a particular spot.
LRAD used in virtual worlds
Bringing our discussion back into the realms of virtual worlds, LRAD (long range acoustical device) technology is very different from surround. Imagine being able to have speakers similar in shape to a disco ball with thousands of tiny panels that shot sound to certain parts of your room. Up in the corner there is a reflective surface that creates the sound of a waterfall. The left wall becomes a waterfall with the sound actually changing as it goes from the top of the wall to the base where water is collected. Imagine the sound of air rustling through the trees in various locations where trees actually exist in this virtual world. On the floor is the sound of water as it cascades down a lazy stream. As you walk down a path the sound of twigs breaking with every footstep. This technology makes it so the sound is positioned in a certain spot and when you physically move closer to the reflective surface, the sound only becomes louder - like real life. This also poses the question, could LRAD technology be used to create "Real world gaming environments" in combination with mobile devices like the iPad. Surely advertising will come first but, and has already with our A&E billboard example (video link below). One more interesting example of how LRAD could be used is in creating the ability to project audio in fine streams to reflective surfaces of the room so that you could create your own mix by simply walking through an environment. So many possibilities and this is only a first step in wave manipulation.
The ability to harness sound into a small cylindrical pipeline is not necessarily a coloration or addition to sound but it creates an interesting first step into conditioning sound waves to create more interesting environments.
Resources
http://www.texaseducator.com/family/jbouyer/lessons/Science/askew/mycourses/pwave.htm
Netflix: Music Instinct: Science and Song (currently under documentaries)
YouTube: Sound-waves and their sources (1933)
You Tube: LRAD Technology Billboard
www.pacifermusic.com
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