Spatial Audio Enhances the VR Experience

When you think of virtual reality, those big black goggles always spring to mind. They block out the real world, and visually immerse you in a digital world.

But what does that virtual world sound like?

With an investment from a Creative Saskatchewan Business Capacity Grant, a Regina company is working on “spatial audio” tech. It creates 3D audio to enhance the visual virtual experience.

Mike McNaughton of Twisted Pair Productions dropped by the Creative Saskatchewan office to offer staff a demo of his spatial audio project. Strapping on the goggles, we were treated to a band’s live performance. Each musician was located in a different part of the hall. As you looked around the room at each individual musician, the instrument they were playing became louder as the others faded into the background.

As a leader in virtual entertainment technology, Twisted Pair Productions is always looking for new tech, and new ways to enhance the 3D virtual experience. The spatial audio project is another step forward in making the virtual world more immersive, and more entertaining.

“When potential customers can touch and feel the project, it commands a great deal of credibility as its clear we have a functional product and we are capable of producing their next project,” McNaughton said. “The grant provided to us greatly assisted us to build our skills and capacity in Virtual Reality and 360° video production.”