How would you explain the experience of good sound absorption in a room?
To truly understand the value of better acoustics you need to experience it firsthand. This is why we have built two identical rooms with different absorption in our showroom Ecorama at the Ecophon headquarters in Hyllinge, Sweden. Here you can experience the difference between good and bad acoustics. Furthermore, the two rooms illustrate the limitations of reverberation time. Even though both rooms have almost the same average measured reverberation time (T20), they are qualitywise perceived as very different.
But even if we would like to, we can’t bring everyone to experience the difference between good and bad acoustics at Hyllinge.
An Immersive Acoustic Experience™
That’s why Ecophon has developed a Virtual Reality Audio tool. With the Immersive Acoustic Experience (IAE) we can bring not only the experience of the Ecorama rooms anywhere, but also a wide range of different spaces to explore. This fully immersive experience includes the acoustic effect of different Ecophon products in several virtual rooms.
The Immersive Acoustic Experience is a virtual reality tool that can be brought anywhere. An acoustic experience in a bag! At the Ecophon International Acoustics Seminar (EIAS) in May 2023, acousticians from all over the world had the opportunity to try out Healthcare spaces in IAE at the Ecophon showroom. The new update of the IAE also includes better rendering of sound in all frequencies, including the lower ones. Step into an Operating room, a nurses station or an Intensive Care Unit!
Acousticians testified that the need for a tool like the IAE is great. There are a lot of clients that lack knowledge about acoustics and the effect it has on people in buildings. With the interactive experience where sight and hearing are solicited, the goal is to spread knowledge about acoustics.
Augmented Reality to visualize sound absorption
One of the greatest challenges about acoustics is that sound can’t be seen. Or can it?
With new techniques, the sound and behaviour of sound waves can be visualized in a room. Augmented Reality (AR) is a tool to make acoustics visible! Ecophon has developed an AR tool where sound is represented by balls and arrows that visualize how sound waves bounce off walls and ceilings. Or being absorbed if Ecophon products are put in place virtually in a room.
Pierre Chigot, Exploratory Design Manager at Ecophon explains: “Augmented Reality adds a virtual layer to the reality where you can see how speech sound waves behave differently depending on the acoustic treatment you choose for the room.”
At the EIAS 2023 showroom, the guests could also try this tool. First time exploring Augmented Reality can be tricky, but once you learn how to press the buttons floating in the room, you are all set to look around to see speech turn into arrows in the room.
Hopefully an Immersive Acoustic Experience can be placed in Augmented Reality in a not too far a future to let everyone experience sound with both ears and eyes!
Contact your local Ecophon to try the Virtual Reality Audio, they will be happy to help!
Please visit the EIAS 2023 website for more information on the event
