Ambisonic : Sound & product design & prototyping

Submitted a paper to AES(Audio Engineering Society) titled "The Design and Construction of an Open-Source, Low-Cost, 4-Channel Ambisonic Microphone."

the science

• There are currently several ‘surround sound’ systems, most notably Dolby for Cinema. How is ambisonics different? In conventional ‘surround’ systems, there is a ‘front’ and ‘centre’ from which music and dialog in films sound from. There are three other speakers at the back.

  
  

• Ambisonics is not confined to the plane of the listener with front, back and sides. It is a full-sphere surround sound technique: in addition to the horizontal plane, it covers sound sources above and below the listener.

  
  

• All sounds are recorded and can be reproduced with the same quality, regardless of direction. It also means the sound can be rotated and transformed in many ways after the recording
  
  

aim

• To gain a deep understanding of the field of ambisonics, the context, current and potential applications

• To design and prototype an ambisonic microphone

• To master the skill and science of recording and reproducing high-quality field recordings and sounds.
  
  

contextual enquiry

• The low-cost design and construction of an Ambisonic microphone in India holds significant relevance and potential within the country's rapidly evolving technological landscape. India's evolving VR and AR industry, driven by the need for immersive audio experiences, can benefit from affordable Ambisonic solutions.

  
  

• It is poised to make its mark by enhancing the accessibility of immersive content creation tools and empowering content creators and businesses to deliver high-quality spatial audio experiences.

  
  

• Furthermore, the educational and research sectors in India can leverage these low-cost Ambisonic microphones to explore spatial audio applications. The microphones can be integrated into academic programs and research projects, fostering innovation and skill development.
  
  

potential applications

Assistive hearing aid
Audio recording and productoin
Cinematography
Immersive experiences

process

Literature review

Field Research

Ethnographic observation

Design experiments

Prototyping!

Testing

Calibrating*

field research

• The most fundamental soundfield microphone comprises four cardioid capsules arranged in a tetrahedral configuration. This arrangement captures a soundfield from a single point in space across four channels, yielding A-format signals in their unprocessed state.

• Using the existing ambisonic mic , converted at the lab, we set about capturing different kinds of sound with a focus on movement from around campus. We then learnt to convert and reproduce them using two digital audio workstations called Reaper & Ableton.
  
  

ethnographic research

• We were lucky enough to be able to meet Mr.Alessandro Olla, an Italian experimental performance artist in the field of light and sound. He uses ambisonic field recordings and transforms them into different varieties, timbres & frequencies of sound with varying effects.

• We spent two weeks shadowing his work as he went about his field recordings, converting and reproducing into a usable format, adding effects and building a story, a curated audio track.