by Julian Schwazer -

Car Testing

The Vehicle Experience consists of a lot of different elements and each of these elements can be evaluated individually. Testing all elements of the vehicle experience is one of the most important steps during the development process of new cars. Vehicles can be evaluated objectively with standardized methods, driving maneuvers, and sensors or subjectively with the development team, external partners, or real users. With the rise of new technologies, the testing of the vehicle experience also gets more complex and complicated. There are a lot of companies out there that are specializing in testing specific features. Especially the ADAS, autonomous driving features, and other safety-relevant elements are tested meticulously during the development.

A lot of companies and public figures are also doing comprehensive tests of vehicles for their websites, blogs, magazines, YouTube channels, Instagram accounts, and many more. There are a lot of different resources where customers can get a lot of information about the cars they are interested in before actually visiting the dealership.

Examples for popular formats include Car & Driver, Evo, Motor Trend, Auto Motor und Sport, Motor1, Top Gear, Grip, carwow, and many more. Since a lot of modern vehicles also have a lot of techs inside, more and more technology-focused YouTubers and Influencers are also making comprehensive reviews of new cars. Because all of these formats also have a different target audience, they also test different features of the car in more detail. While most of these formats are also offering at least parts of their tests and videos for free on multiple channels, some still require subscriptions for more detailed information.

Car and Driver – Comprehensive Car Testing

Car and Driver Magazine has published a detailed overview of how they collect more than 200 data points for every single test they are doing. Since they are using the same procedure for every of the about 400 vehicles they are testing per year, the test results can also be compared with each other. Car and Driver are testing all cars in the following categories.

Performance Testing

To get a good overview of the performance, every car has to do different straight-line accelerations (standing quarter-mile, 5 to 60 mph rolling start, 30 to 50 mph, and 50 to 70 mph), a braking test, and a cornering test. Even though all of their data is recorded by a GPS data logger and therefore already very accurate, they are additionally accounting for wind, weather conditions, and a lot more external factors that might influence the performance of each car.

source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alistaircharlton/2021/06/01/the-electric-rimac-nevera-can-sprint-to-60mph-in-185-seconds/?sh=1a86f741617d

Interior Sound Level

While measuring the performance on the test track, they are also measuring the sound-pressure level in an idle state, while accelerating and while cruising. Each of the sound tests is also done on the same section of the track to ensure the best comparability possible between the tests.

source: https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a32018270/how-we-test-cars/

Fuel Economy and Driving Range

Another important piece of information for a lot of their readers is the fuel economy or power consumption of cars. To get a realistic real-world result, they have developed their own highway fuel-economy tests for combustion engines, plug-in hybrids, and electric vehicles.

source: https://www.theaa.com/driving-advice/fuels-environment/official-fuel-consumption-figures

Cargo Space and Storage

Cargo space is often stated in liters by manufacturers. To get better real-world data, Car and Driver is measuring cargo volume with cardboard boxes the size of carry-on luggage and with ping-pong balls.

source: https://www.motortrend.com/news/2013-ford-escape-interior-spaces-measured-with-pingpong-balls-235287/

Visibility and Seating Height

Measuring the seating height is done with an H-point machine (HPM) that defines the theoretical location of the hip joint of the driver or passenger. With a laser that is mounted on top of this machine, they are also measuring the outward visibility and how much roadway is obscured by the car itself.

source: http://www.khiart.com/safety.html

Center of Gravity Height

The center of gravity (CG) is an important value for the dynamic of the car. The lower the CG is, the better the handling in corners and the lower the risk of a rollover in really tight corners or during a crash.

source: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a18201745/explained-how-to-measure-center-of-gravity-height/

Safety and Warranty

The safety of a car is determined by combining data from crash tests with some subjective evaluations of safety equipment. In the US these crash tests are performed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) based on the US New Car Assessment Program (US NCAP) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) based on the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP). The Euro NCAP is also the basis for crash tests in Europe. Since the warranty can only be tested during long-term tests, Car and Driver has to rely on the numbers from the manufacturers in this case. But since they are also doing long-term tests with cars from a lot of different manufacturers, they already got a good overview of the coverage and services offered by each of them.

source: https://www.mercedes-benz.com/de/innovation/60-jahre-crashtest-auf-kollisionskurs-im-auftrag-der-sicherheit/

Editors Observations

The results of this category are based on the editor’s observation sheet (EOS) they created. Editors are usually collecting more than 170 individual observations during exterior and interior walkarounds. This sheet contains information about the year, make, and model of the car, paint quality, USB port locations, amount of cup holder, material quality, ergonomics, the usability of the infotainment system, and many more.

Infotainment

Since the infotainment system plays an important role in the in-vehicle experience, Car and Driver is also measuring input lag, response time, and the features that make up the infotainment system, including Apple CarPlay Android Auto.

source: https://www.carwow.co.uk/mercedes/news/4267/mercedes-eqs-price-specs-release-date#gref

Overall Rating

The results from all of these categories are then combined with subjective evaluations of the drivers and editors and converted on a ten-point scale. Another important factor for their overall rating is that they are evaluating cars only in comparison to the direct competitors. If they are rating the handling of an SUV, it is not compared to handling a sports car. Each test is also discussed within the team before it gets published to ensure better comparability and fairness.

More details on their testing method can be found online:

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a32018270/how-we-test-cars/#hwteditorsobservations

Auto Motor und Sport – Elektroauto Supertest

The “Elektroauto Supertest” series from “Auto Motor und Sport” gives a really good overview on how they are testing electric vehicles and which categories are important to them.

Top Gear – Review

While Top Gear is mainly known for the TV show on BBC which is one of the most popular car shows on TV worldwide, they also post car reviews on YouTube.

Carwow – Drag Race

Carwow is mainly known for videos, where they are drag racing different cars against each other, but they (mainly Mat Watson) are also doing car reviews. 

Tech YouTuber – Car Review

As already mentioned, a lot of tech YouTubers are also doing reviews of modern, mainly electric vehicles. The most popular ones are probably Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) and Unbox Therapy, but also some German YouTuber started doing car reviews with the launch of the new Mercedes EQS.

Car YouTuber – Reviews

Of course there are not only tech focused YouTube channels with a lot of videos about cars. There are far more car focused YouTube channels that make videos about different cars. Some of them are mainly focusing on the technical parts of cars and how to tune them, some are mainly focusing on showing and optimizing their own car collection, and some are mainly focusing on reviews. Popular Englisch car channels include Car Throttle, Shmee150, DougDemuro, Drivetribe and many more. The most popular German car-focused YouTube channels include JP Performance, Philipp Kaess, Auto Bild, Motor Woche, Car Maniac and many more.

Resources

Web

https://engineering.mpt.magna.com/engineering-services/vehicle-prototyping-testing/vehicle-testing/

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/amp32018270/how-we-test-cars/

by Esma Kurbegovic -

The Loudness War

Before starting, look at the top image. These 2 sets of sound files, mastered/limited at different levels. The first one is from the 90s and the second one is what is being done post 2010. Just by looking at the graphic representations, you can tell that the first song has a lot of breathing space and room for expression, while the second one looks a bit like the life has been squeezed out of it. This is the loudness war in a nutshell- people competing to squeeze in as much volume as possible within the range that we can digitally produce.

So why is the loudness war happening? Usually, we perceive louder as better, even if a song might not be better mixed. Basically, music is getting progressively louder as time passes, thus becoming less dynamic and lively.

What are the basics of loudness? There are a few units used in measurement- LUFS (loudness units relative to scale and DBTP (decibels true peak). Our DAWs by default show a different unit- DBFS (decibels relative to full scale), which is does not show us the overall average loudness, just the momentary peaks. LUFS are actually closer to how our ear perceives loudness. It is similar to RMS (root mean square) but still closer to our own loudness perception. When mastering audio/music, it is highly recommended to get a measurement tool that includes at least these measures (but ideally give you access to more insights into your track’s dynamics, spectrum and similar):

  • Short-Term LUFS – Short-term peak at the current listening point
  • Integrated LUFS – overall loudness of the whole track
  • Dynamic Range – the difference between the quietest and the loudest part of the track
  • Momentary Max LUFS – the highest peak measured in LUFS within the audio/music that is being analysed
  • True Peak – The maximum peak level of the audio measured real-time, measured in DBTP. Different from the regular peak (which relates to individual tracks inside the mix)
  • Loudness range LUFS- measures the perceived loudness of audio material. Similarly to dynamic range, it tracks the difference in loudness between different parts of the audio

It is a big challenge to determine which loudness you should use, taking into consideration loudness perception, as well as different loudness standards presents on each streaming/music platform. Platforms apply loudness normalisation, which sets every audio file to the same integrated loudness. From my own experience, one loudness setting will never be perfect for every use case, but the most important thing is to find a compromise and choose a loudness/true peak level that sound solid on every service. Sometimes, the audio will be turned up, and sometimes turned down by certain services, depending on their own normalisation standards. Each platform will normalize the audio according to their own standards, so it is just important to make sure your source material dynamic range is good enough to not get completely squished by a music platform. The good news is that each platform recommends a dynamic range that is 9 DR or less (meaning 9 dbs difference between the loudest and quietest part).

Here are some of the standards used by the most popular platforms:

  • Spotify – -14 LUFS/ -1 DBTP (-11/-2 is also fine)
  • Deezer – -14 to -16 LUFS /-1 DBTP
  • Beatport – -6 to -9 LUFS /-1 DBTP
  • Apple Music – -16 LUFD/-1 DBTP
  • Bandcamp – No loudness normalisation, but -2DBTP is recommended for the peaks due to low playback quality they offer
  • Tidal – -14 LUFS/-1 DBTP
  • YouTube – -13 to -15 LUFS /-1 DBTP
  • SoundCloud – -8 to -13 LUFS /-1 DBTP

Sources:

https://www.masteringthemix.com/pages/mixing-with-levels#LoudnessRange

www.audiodraft.com/blog/audio-levels-101-all-you-need-is-lufs

https://artists.spotify.com/help/article/loudness-normalization

https://www.edmprod.com/lufs/

https://www.sageaudio.com/blog/mastering/mastering-for-streaming-platform-loudness-and-normalization-explained.php

https://www.masteringthemix.com/blogs/learn/76296773-mastering-audio-for-soundcloud-itunes-spotify-and-youtube

by Katrin Weißler -

Rhythm in Documentaries

How did rhythm in documentaries developed over time? The following blog post compares the documentary of Pennebaker “Bob Dylan – Don’t look back” of the year 1965 and the documentary “Amy – The Girl behind the name” about the singer Amy Winehouse by Asif Kapadia in published in 2015.

Source: https://www.zeit.de/kultur/film/2019-08/d-a-pennebaker-dokumentarfilmer-gestorben?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

Don’t look back

Don’t look back give an insight of the character, and the person of Bob Dylan, especially in contact with reporters and the situations before and after concerts. The film depicts the life of the 60s. In the conversation with reporters Bob Dylan shows revulsion and lack of interest towards journalists and denies them any understanding for his music. To a reporter of the Time magazine, he says:  „You can call me a folk singer, but the people know better”.  When a science student came to get to know Bob, the singer did not show any interest but played on the guitar when the student was talking. This mixture of talking and music accents shapes the film.

image source: https://www.kaltblut-magazine.com/amy-winehouse-the-girl-behind-the-name-a-movie/[2021.06.18]

Amy- The Girl behind the name

The documentary Amy – The Girl behind the name of the year 2015 shows the singer songwriter Amy Winehouse having much more trouble with her sudden publicity causing drug and alcohol problems and finally hear death.

Montage

A big part of the rhythm in the documentary Don’t look back is given by Bob Dylan’s music underlining the film.

The cutting rhythm in Don’t look back is marked by long shots. A lot of time one scene is shown without any cut, but the discussions are so dynamic that the prospectors are not missing anything. There are also scenes of 9 Minutes without any cut.

But there are also other rhythms giving dynamic to this film.

In the scene when Dylan’s girlfriend Joan Beaz is singing and playing guitar (29:36) Dylan is typing on a typewriter. The fast clicking that he is interfering Joans singing could also reveal his complete character. The clacking of shoes when Bob and his team steps on the wooden stage of the Royal Albert Hall shows the big impression Dylan leaves on a stage. The sound of the shoes echoes in your ear.

Words shape the rhythm of the documentary in a huge way, as Dylan’s talent to find words in a beautiful way has always been recognized. Next to Dylan’s quick-witted answers there are also word battles and even dispute scenes shown (18:23min (part 2)). These words and

The only use of original sound contributes to the outstanding character of the film.

Amy Winehouse’s music underlays the whole documentary Amy – The Girl behind the name. In addition to that different music and sound effects are used to intensify the spectator’s mood.

The documentary consists of interview scenes with Amy Winehouse at different TV shows, radio interviews and interview and voices cutouts with Andrew Morris (Bodyguard), Blake Fielder-Civil (ex-husband), Blake Wood (friend), Janis Winehouse (Mother), Juliette Ashby (Friend), Cynthia Winehouse (Amy’s paternal Grandmother) and Lauren Gilbert (friend) . The cutter Chris King

In contrast to the documentary of 1965 the cutting rhythm is much faster corresponding to the speeding up in time. Voice messages are overlay by all different archive material. In this posthumous documentary all kind of different video material was collected from media and friends.

Cinematography

Pennebaker’s camera work is  marked by handheld shots including lots of fast pan shots and zoom outs from a detail shot to a wide shot. Pennebaker shot the documentary on 16 mm black and white film. He himself developed „a portable 16mm Camera“[1] with which he could follow the artist everywhere and pick up all spontaneous situations.

Besides rhythm in sound this documentary shows interesting rhythm in image. The repetition of car drives arrives throughout the documentary. The car is medium to rush to a new place and symbolizing the rush to new concerts in Dylan’s time of being famous. Other repetitions are newspapers and Dylan with a cigarette. There are also scenes where you can only see a black screen because of nighttime but you hear the screaming voices of fans (28:44).  The repetition of phone calls shows the interest of other people having part of Dylans success and the managers discussing about it. The rhythm in image is part of the storytelling and giving glues to understand the character of Bob Dylan.

The film starts with a person holding parts of the Bob Dylan’s lyrics written on paper by listening to the music. This style reminds of the early stage of music videos.

The cinematography of Amy – The Girl behind the name is recognizable by its shaky, blurry images and video filmed by a phone camera.

Nick Shymansky (Amy’s manager) films Amy asking her questions in a driving car. This direct address reminds of the cinema direct, but it also is part of the storytelling. Asif Kapadia did not had influence on the material, but the chosen material let the audience being part of Amy’s environment. With including all the friend’s material filming her and asking her questions helps you understanding the pressure Amy felt by being filmed and addressed all the time of her fame and even before. The cinematography shapes storytelling of this documentary.

Rhythm is created by shaky camera movement and the flashlight being produced by the mass of photographers. Soft dissolves visualize the insidious disintegration of Amy Winehouse. Magazine Covers and Amy’s notes for new songs, pictures give the film a collage like style.

Narration

Pennebaker brings the “cinéma verité”[2] into the “Rockumentary”. As a silent observer he never intrudes in the situation and stays out of focus. Due to the intensive and intimate contact the filmmaker had with Bob Dylan you could guess that Pennebaker is a confederate and shows sympathy for him. The role of the filmmaker in cinema verité is to reveal the truth and leaving the audience to judge and making conclusions. Pennebaker totally withdraws his point of view, he never provokes certain situation but let Dylan act in his way.

The narration in Amy – The Girl behind the name works with off-voices by Amy’s closest contact persons or friends. Moments captured behind the scenes and interviews by media and friends work as a cinema direct. But the choice of statements made by Asif Kapadia gives the audience clear answers for the reasons of Amy’s death. Mitch Winehouse, Amy’s Father reacts to the documentary: “They are trying to portray me in the worst possible light”.[3]

[1] https://www.zeit.de/kultur/film/2019-08/d-a-pennebaker-dokumentarfilmer-gestorben?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F [2021.06.18]

[2] https://www.zeit.de/kultur/film/2019-08/d-a-pennebaker-dokumentarfilmer-gestorben?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F [2021.06.18]

[3] https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/may/01/mitch-winehouse-interview-amy-documentary-film [2021.06.18]

by Theresa Dachauer -

Who inspires me #2

Here I go again, trying to figure out what I like and why. Today’s illustrator is Beatrice Blue (@beatrice.blue) an Art Director and author/illustrator working both on publishing and the animation industry. Her work is very playful and colorful. What draws me to her work is her use of different analog textures in a digital setting. I like her the color palettes she chooses, they harmonize with her painting style and motifs. The illustrations she creates feel soft and comforting, but also very playful.

I think the biggest reason why I like someones work is if it triggers some sort of emotional reaction whether it’s curiosity, happiness, longing or a feeling of understanding. The work of Beatrice Blue definitely invokes happy emotions.

by Sabine Probst -

Creation of environmental documentaries as a one person crew

There is a lot of information out there about filmmaking and documentary filmmaking. But not so much about environmental/ conservation or wildlife filmmaking. When thinking about making such a documentary most people would probably think of big productions like the once from BBC or NatGeo. Yet it is possible to create a documentary as a small crew or even alone. Films can have a great impact on its viewers, therefore well made environmental documentaries are important. Especially ones from independent filmmakers with the correct knowledge about the topic they are making a film of and no big production company in their neck telling them to stage things cause of better quotes.

For my master thesis I want to write a little handbook like I wish would already exist. One which is easy to understand for everyone, where you can’t only read about how to make a documentary, but also get an overview of what an environmental documentary is, its history, its power and eco critical perspective and environmental ethics. After having an understanding of that I will go through every step of production, from research, finding protagonists to marketing, distribution and festivals. As environmental filmmaker I think it is also very important to have knowledge of the things you are making a film about, so there will also be chapters about what the environment is, conservation and conservation psychology. Obviously every project needs its own research about the specific topic the film is going to be about, but I think an understanding of the basics is important.

Alongside this book I am going to create a documentary film about the problems of Mediterranean Sea. This documentary is currently in its pre-production phase. First possible protagonists from different ocean conservation organizations were approached and first confirmations came in. As a second, smaller part of my master thesis book I am going to document the making of this film as a real life example, using the information I have gathered in the first part.

by Giuseppe Taormina -

Wanding

Wanding is a very important process for the OptiTrack system calibration.

A calibration wall is used, which is repeatedly shaken in front of the cameras so that all cameras can see the markers.

The CalibrationWand must be brought into the capture volume and carefully shaken through the entire aspiration volume. To collect samples with different orientations, it is best to draw figures of eight.

For adequate sampling, we need to cover as much space as possible and cover both low and high heights.

The wanding trails are shown in color in the 2D view. A table with the status of the measurement process is displayed in the calibration area to monitor the progress.

After enough samples have been collected, the software can calculate. Generally 2,000 to 5,000 samples are sufficient.

When done, the cameras are displayed in Motive’s 3D viewer. However, the recording volume built into the software still has to be aligned with the coordinate plane. This is because the ground plane is not fixed.

The final step necessary to complete the calibration is to set the ground plane and origin by placing the calibration square in the volume and indicating on the subject where the calibration square is located. This needs to be positioned within the volume where we want to place the origin and level the ground floor.

To set the coordinate system, reference is made to the position and orientation of the calibration square, so it must be aligned in such a way that it relates to the desired axis orientation.

by Theresa Kardel -

The power of Design

In this blogpost I refer to the TED Talk of JD Hooge:

With great power comes great responsibility

Stan Lee

Technology
In the past few decades, technology has changed everything: news, transportation, shopping, health, friendships and family. On average, a person checks their cell phone 220 times a day (that‘s twice as often as we think we do). We want technology to empower us, but the digital world as it was designed tends to dictate the rhythm of our lives. Technology has changed our everyday lives faster than we thought and than the consequences could be foreseen. Designers in the digital sector can therefore now influence more than ever before. It is therefore important to take responsibility for what you create and the impact it has on life.

Design gives identity
In addition to the music that makes people feel they belong to a wide variety of groups, strong visuals also give a feeling of commutity. Different groups have their own aesthetics, ethical code and ideology. And often this aesthetic is reflected in stickers, fashion and visuals. These symbols connect – design gives identity.

Bauhaus
The Arts and Crafts movement emerged during the Industrial Revolution. It reacted to the increasing technology and machines and should offer an antipole. In the meantime, a group of idealistic artists and designers who have embraced technology came together in Germany. The Bauhaus no longer saw designers just as ‚decorators‘. It wanted to combine technology, art and design. They used industrial materials for household furniture. They placed emphasis on the social aspect of design and focused on the affordability and efficiency of materials and visual elements.


Dieter Rams spoke of designers as visual engineers. His philosophy revolved around a ‚less is better‘ essentialism. He wanted to develop products that were more sustainable and less problematic for the environment. ‚Design shouldn‘t dominate people, it should help people‘. His aesthetics and ethics were aligned and his design was human-centered. Design is a responsibility because design shapes the future.

The impact of design
Design influences every moment of our life. It evokes feelings, it is a strong social influencer, it helps to understand complex systems. Today we need design to let it work for us. In the new digital world there are enough problems that need to be solved. The success that technology has these days is measured by the time users spend on it, not the benefit it can bring to people. Sometimes technology makes things better for one community while it makes things worse for another. There are many blind spots in technology, for example on the topics of racism, equality, oppression. And people are increasingly rethinking their relationship with technology. Technology companies such as Apple and Google are also struggling to better focus on people and their wellbeing. But that‘s only just beginning. The advantage of designers is that they have a great insight into the inner and work on the front lines. The knowledge, values ​​and experience of a designer flow directly into, for example, the user interface, every push notification and every icon that he develops. This means that designers can directly influence the user. In order to live up to this responsibility, designers should deal with more than just their area of ​​expertise: world history, ethics, inclusion, systematic inequality, cognitive bias. It is important to learn from the past. It is just as important to deal with different opinions and views.

Seek historical, cultural & economic context
Elevate the design curriculums
Build diverse teams to improve collective decision making
Empower individuals with resposibility

by Christoph Stuhlpfarrer -

Surroundscapes

The next generation of audio

Surroundscapes: the power of immersive sound

Geoff Taylor, CEO, the BPI: “Cutting-edge new tech, such as immersive audio used in VR and other applications, give us a glimpse of how this exciting new world of consumption and entertainment will take shape.”

In the early days of silent film, music was performed live. There was a band or pianist that would play in front of the screen, serving as commentary for the narrative’s action and flow. In 1927, music and sound were recorded and printed onto film for the first time. Slowly, as film technology became more sophisticated, it encompassed multiple channels of sound, with a number of speakers placed around the theatre. Eventually, surround sound was developed, and became a critical factor in the success of the overall cinematic experience.

Immersive content is no different. If one thinks of virtual reality as an attempt to create an alternative reality, the brain needs audio cues to match the visuals to be able to buy into the illusion. The user has to feel present in the experience, and can only feel present if all the cues received are completely natural. If the sound is flat and coming from just one place, the spell will be broken.

When delivered successfully, immersive audio creates the sensation of height around the user, transporting into a more thrilling experience. Because the power of sound can alert users to something behind or above, it’s important users realise that they are able to move around within the immersive experiences. When creating virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) experiences, for a long time, the industry has been focusing on the visuals, but that is only part of the environment.

This year, at SXSW, Tribeca and the Venice Film Festival there was a noticeable rise in sound-led immersive experiences: sound has become a powerful storytelling tool.  

Last year, Bose launched BoseAR  and with it three products to transform AR audio. Launched alongside  
these products, the software to  create AR content is now available, with the world’s first audio AR platform: Traverse.

At SXSW, Traverse’s “From Elvis in Memphis”, an AR-based piece of content allowed users to experience the music of Elvis Presley by walking through a physical space. The experience is created in such a way that it’s like being in the studio with Elvis; it’s possible to walk right up to him and his band members.

In the UK, Abbey Road Studios is one of the most famous recording studios in the world. It has been in use since 1931, and has famously provided recording facilities for talents such as The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Aretha Franklin. Abbey Road is the only facility in the UK to offer both scoring and film sound post-production, while the focus on immersive technology grows year on year.

Our research has identified a number of companies in the UK which are creating sound-based tools and solutions. There are even more creating sound-led immersive experiences. Two companies from our CreativeXR programme this year are doing just that: Darkfield and Abandon Normal Devices. On last year’s programme, Roomsize developed Open Space: a platform that enables the rapid construction of interactive audio experiences that occupy physical spaces. All this activity suggests that we are on the brink of a new generation of infrastructure 
to amplify sound in VR, AR and MR. Sound-led content will simultaneously open up new streams of possibilities for entertainment and media.

In partnership with the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and its Innovation Hub, we are delighted to introduce Surroundscapes: The power of immersive sound. This is the latest Digital Catapult immersive showcase which runs from July to October 2019. We will be shining a light on UK-based startups and scaleups that are either creating the latest solutions to amplify VR, AR and MR experiences with sound, or content creators who are  specifically sound-led. 

Surroundscapes: showcase

After a competitive selection process, Digital Catapult and the BPI welcome six of the most innovative immersive sound companies in the UK: 

1.618 Digital: is an award-winning creative sound design studio that provides audio production and post-production services; immersive and spatial audio solutions for 360 video content; and games and interactive VR/AR media. 

As part of this showcase, 1.618 Digital is proud to present three projects that are on the cutting edge of digital technology for modern education and storytelling and illustrate the innovative applications of immersive audio. Immersive environments allow interactions and user manipulation of objects and sounds, which has been proven to provide 40% more brain activity relating to storage and recall of information. The use of high spatial resolution audio and interactivity along with volumetric audio and 6DOF enables users to engage with stories and other content on a deeper level.

Darkfield: specialises in creating communal location-based immersive experiences inside shipping containers. These experiences place the audience in complete darkness and then deliver binaural 3D audio and other sensory elements, using the darkness to create a canvas for the imagination.

The company has a unique offer grown from over twenty years working in the immersive theatre industry, and over six years creating shows and experiences in complete darkness that use binaural audio, multi-sensory effects and content to place the audience in the centre of evolving narratives. The experiences’ greatest asset is the invitation to walk the line between what seems to be happening and what imaginations can conjure up.

MagicBeans: is a spatial audio company creating a new kind of AR audio. The company maps highly realistic audio ‘holograms’ to real-world locations, visual displays and moving objects, creating a new and emotive presence for experiential businesses and visitor attractions.

The experiences demonstrate how sound can be mapped to visual displays, to individual objects that can be picked up and interacted with, and to a full room-scale audio experience. Experience MagicBeans technology embedded in a next-generation silent disco, an immersive theatre production and a new kind of audio-visual display

PlayLines: is an immersive AR studio that specialises in creating narrative-led immersive AR experiences in iconic venues. Its productions combine cutting-edge location-based AR technology with game design and immersive theatre techniques. The team’s work has been described as “Punchdrunk Theatre meets Pokemon Go”.

CONSEQUENCES is a groundbreaking immersive interactive audio-AR grime rap opera, created in collaboration with multi-award-winning MC Harry Shotta. Explore the AR Grime Club, follow the rhymes, and choose the ending. CONSEQUENCES gives audiences a brand new kind of night out that combines Secret Cinema, silent disco and ‘Sleep No More’. 

Volta: is a new way to produce music and audio, using space and movement as both a medium and an output. It is a VR application that makes spatial audio production not just easy but expressive, like a musical instrument, and easily integrates with audio production software.

Volta achieves integration by retaining the visual and interactive elements of producing spatial audio within the platform, while keeping all audio signal processing in the producer’s or engineer’s audio production application of choice. It uses a robust communication channel that allows the user to physically grab objects, move them in space, and record and automate that motion.

ZoneMe: ZONEME’s TRUE2LIFE™ object-based sound system provides a new way to control how audiences hear things by placing the sound at the point of origination. For example, words can appear to come from an actor’s mouth, not the speakers, or a gunshot can be made to sound as if it takes place outside the room. 

ZONEME aims to put the ‘reality’ into VR/AR/MR experiences by providing TRUE2LIFE™ sound. These experiences can be up to seven times more stimulating than visuals. Yet visuals have seen huge technological advances over the last 30 years that have not been matched by similar developments in audio. 

Naima Camara Thursday 04 July 2019

by Markus Weber -

The Power of Procedural Texturing

Wie bei allen prozeduralen Vorgängen, welche in meinen vorherigen Blogeinträgen näher behandelt wurden, wird diese Prozedur ebenso in der Aufbereitung von Texturen eingesetzt und ist heutzutage fester Bestandteil in der CGI-Welt.

Doch was ist der Vorteil von Procedural Texturing?

Das Abfotografieren eines bestimmten Musters oder Objekts per Kamera verspricht ein genaues Abbild der Realität und kann durchaus hervorragende und nützliche Endresultate liefern, doch liegt der große Unterschied zu einer prozeduralen Textur bei der Weiterverarbeitung und speziell in der flexiblen Weiterverwendung des Materials. Der große Vorteil und somit der maßgebliche Unterschied zu einer “abfotografierten Textur” ist der dynamische und schnelle Austausch von bestimmten Parametern, welche wiederum zu einem komplett neuen Erscheinungsbild der Textur führt. Aufgrund der Tatsache, dass prozedurale Texturen aus einer Reihe von numerischen Parametern und somit ausschließlich digital funktionieren, sind diese vom Benutzer jederzeit frei anpassbar, um maximale Flexibilität in der Gestaltung von Texturen beizubehalten.

Links: Abfotografiert — Rechts: Procedural Textures

Weitere Vorteile sind die kleinen Speichergrößen sowie die potenziell unbegrenzt große Auflösung, da nur das Verfahren gespeichert wird, mit dem die Textur generiert wird, was vor allem in den Bereichen, in denen Realtime-Rendering betrieben wird, beispielsweise in 3D-Computerspiele oder ähnliche Anwendungen, sehr nützlich ist und vieles vereinfacht.

Perlin-Noise sei Dank!

Der Ursprung der parametrischen Textursynthese ist Perlin-Noise, eine 1982 von Ken Perlin für den Film “Tron” entwickelte mathematische Funktion, die Texturbilder durch zufällige Verzerrung abwechslungsreicher gestaltet. Nach seinen Aussagen zufolge war er sehr verärgert, dass Produkte, welche in seiner Zeit mit CGI gefertigt wurden, ganz klar zwischen realen Bilder unterscheidet werden können – Computergenerierte Inhalte hatten seiner Meinung nach ein zu offensichtliches “maschinenähnliches” Aussehen.

Dieses Problem wurde mithilfe seines Perlin-Rauschens großflächig aus dem Weg geschafft. Das Perlin-Noise ist eine Methode, welche Oberflächen und ihre damit verbundenen Texturen durch ihre “Zufallsformel” natürlich(er) erscheinen lassen. Mit der Hilfe dieser Funktion gelingt es Grafikern und 3D-Artists, etliche Naturphänome visuell besser und vor allem realitätsnaher darzustellen, da sie auf ein pseudozufälliges System beruht, welches vom Designer jederzeit manuell kontrolliert und gesteuert werden kann.

Perlin-Noise

Hierbei handelt es sich um synthetische Texturen wie Feuer, Rauch oder Wolken – kann aber bei allen Arten von Texturen und anderen Objektoberflächen angewendet werden – unter anderem auch in prozedural gesteuerten Texturen.

Generierte Landschaft mithilfe von Perlin-Noise

Quellen:

https://de.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-programming/programming-natural-simulations/programming-noise/a/perlin-noise

https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textursynthese

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procedural_texture

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perlin_noise

by Katsiaryna Palishchuk -

House with germs and bulletproof skin. BioDesign.

Society is increasingly trying not to subjugate nature, but, on the contrary, to learn from it. With knowledge of the properties of certain organisms, we can revolutionize design. For example, grow bulletproof leather and create lamps with an alternative way of getting light.

BioDesign

Biodesign is associated with the design of hybrid forms of living organisms and modern technologies in order to enhance certain properties of organisms and increase their chances of survival.

In many ways, the task of a biodesigner is to address the challenges posed by the impending climate crisis. The field of biodesign cannot be imagined without the interaction between designers and scientists who know how the body works at the molecular level.

On the one hand, the question arises whether we have the right to interfere with the life of other living beings and transform it; on the other hand, biodesign, in theory, is guided by noble ideas and is looking for ways to make life easier (not only for people, but also for other living organisms) in extreme conditions.

Researchers and designers are studying the properties of various microorganisms, which are the first to develop cunning mechanisms for adapting to new conditions. For example, inside nuclear reactors, scientists found microbes that were able to protect and restore their DNA, despite the huge doses of radiation. Studying and using such a defense mechanism could help scientists looking for a cure for cancer. Another representative of superhero microorganisms managed to survive, being on the ISS hull for 553 days and overcoming the space cold. For biodesigners, such discoveries are a real find, given that the human genome is 90% composed of cells of symbiotic microbes. That is, theoretically, we can “add” tiny neighbors to ourselves and get some of their super-abilities.

Biodesign is not equal to biomimicry.

The term “biomimicry” denotes an approach when the design borrows or copies the principles observed in nature. Biologist Janine Benjus detailed the main ideas of this approach in her 1997 book. One problem with the term biomimicry is that it is used too widely. Often, in such a design, the connection with nature is limited only to the imitation of form or material for a symbolic, decorative effect. That is, the form turns out to be divorced from the idea of ​​biodesign — to live in harmony with existing ecosystems.

Examples:

BioConcrete

This experimental technology was invented by Henk Jonkers. Bioconcrete contains bacteria of the Sporosarcina pasteurii species, which naturally produce limestone under suitable conditions. Before the bio-concrete hardens, bacteria are mixed with nutrients. Over time, as the concrete structure begins to crack, bacteria will help fill them, producing limestone. This hybrid material extends the life of the man-made technology, reduces maintenance costs and minimizes the carbon footprint. Since concrete is one of the most common building materials, the use of technology improved in this way will help to significantly reduce the harmful human impact on the environment.

Botany as architecture

The architecture technique, invented by Ferdinand Ludwig, Cornelius Hackenbracht and Oliver Storz of the University of Stuttgart, involves the use of trees as a supporting structure. For this purpose, species with strong trunks and a root system, such as willow, are suitable. Moreover, the branches and trunks in such a structure will only become stronger over time. It is important for the authors of the idea to emphasize that architecture is not static, it is also subject to change and transformation, like all elements of nature around.

EcoCradle

This packaging material was developed by the American company Ecovative Design as an alternative to containers made from petroleum products and polluting the environment. The basis of EcoCradle (from the English cradle – tray, stand, frame) is mycelium (or mycelium), which is characterized by a rather dense structure. To create such eco-containers, you can use waste from the local agro-industry.

A microbial home

The concept of a microbial home was invented by the Dutch subsidiary of Philips. We can say this is a version of a smart home in which all the work is done and coordinated by microbes, bacteria and fungi. Thanks to them, devices for heating, cooling and growing food, as well as processing food waste, function. They all make up a closed ecosystem. For example, an apparatus for bio-processing of methane helps to solve the problem of recycling food waste and at the same time produces gas, due to which the stove operates.

LatroLamp

An experimental lamp design by Mike Thompson illustrates an alternative way of producing light. In this case, it is generated using gold nanoelectrodes, into which algae cells have been implanted. So, thanks to photosynthesis, we get current.

In addition, Yalila Essaidi is an artist, designer and researcher who invented and created bulletproof leather. It is a hybrid of human skin and spider filament: