Spotlight Feature
Binaural Technology for Mobile Applications
Binaural Audio to have Better Inroads Into Mobile Computing Market
“Mobile phones are the ideal consumer device to show off the potential for 3-Dimensional audio technology,” said David Gallagher, President and CEO of QSound Labs, Inc. “Now that devices such as the iPod are so prevalent, provide a personal experience, and are linked to computing systems, it seems likely that binaural technology will have better inroads into the mobile computing market.”
At the AES convention earlier this year in Paris, Mr. David Gallagher, President and CEO of QSound Labs, Inc., was asked to participate as an expert panelist discussing binaural technology for mobile applications. Binaural audio has to do with the perception of sound by stimulation of two ears. For example, the ability to locate a sound and hear sounds in a natural way such as a voice or bird song against ambient noise.
Mr. Gallagher has been involved with binaural audio for many years and reviewed the evolution of binaural audio and its potential for adding value in audio products. While real-time binaural processing is only about 15 years old, it has been used in numerous consumer products and hearing aids.
Today, mobile phones have evolved from basic voice communication devices into advanced multimedia computers that are capable of handling demanding signal processing tasks in real time. The use of stereo headphones or stereo speakers on these mobile devices enables them to take advantage of binaural technology which can provide an immersive sound experience for a variety of applications ranging from stereo widening of music (creating an out of the head listening experience), three dimensional ring tones to full 3-D positional audio for mobile games.
QSound’s microQ® technology, based on the principals of binaural hearing and the Company’s patented technology, has been accepted by many of the markets’ major platform providers and manufacturers and is well positioned to continue making inroads into the mobile device marketplace.
Reference: Binaural Technology for Mobile Applications, Journal of Audio Engineering Society, Vol. 54, No. 10, 2006 October