Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BINCI (Binaural Tools for the Creative Industries)
Berichtszeitraum: 2017-01-01 bis 2018-06-30
BINCI is an Innovation action that builds on the new emerging creative trend of 3D audio, and the so called binaural technology, that underlies 3D audio experiences through headphones. BINCI’s main objective is to develop an integrated software and hardware solution to ease the production, post-production and distribution of binaural 3D audio content meant to be experienced by consumers through headphones. BINCI tools for binaural 3D audio production are suitable to develop professional applications in the creative industries and will allow the creation of 3D binaural immersive music and other binaural content for interactive applications in the fields of music, cinematic VR and cinema. BINCI delivers market ready solutions proven in real production environments.
This goal has been attained by filling the gap between the common practices and tools used by the audio and music production industry and the playback tools used by the end listeners, with a special focus on the cultural area. The objectives of the project are:
O1. Defining the requirements specifications of the tools, according to industry needs.
O2. Developing a cost-effective binaural measurement system for professionals: HRTFs and SRRs.
O3. Developing production tools to encourage the creation of 3D sound contents.
O4. Integrating software and hardware solutions for a complete immersive audio experience.
O5. To evaluate and demonstrate the developed solutions and the experimental productions created with them in real validation environments.
O6. To pave the way for exploitation through coordinated business, dissemination and communication strategies and plans.
This goal has been attained by filling the gap between the common practices and tools used by the audio and music production industry and the playback tools used by the end listeners, with a special focus on the cultural area. The objectives of the project are:
O1. Defining the requirements specifications of the tools, according to industry needs.
O2. Developing a cost-effective binaural measurement system for professionals: HRTFs and SRRs.
O3. Developing production tools to encourage the creation of 3D sound contents.
O4. Integrating software and hardware solutions for a complete immersive audio experience.
O5. To evaluate and demonstrate the developed solutions and the experimental productions created with them in real validation environments.
O6. To pave the way for exploitation through coordinated business, dissemination and communication strategies and plans.
Work performed can be grouped in the following categories:
* Audio production experiences and requirements: A User group was set to get a better understanding of the market demands, professional practices and needs. An online questionnaire was deployed in order to collect their requirements. Based on this, specifications of the BINCI tools were derived, which have been reviewed during the project. It was also established the roadmap for the BINCI demonstrations.
*Acoustic measurements: A dataset of high-resolution HRTF measurements and 3D scans was created and a HRTF individualization tool was implemented. An alternative HRTF individualization procedure was developed for the acquisition of HRTFs for children. A method for capturing Spatial Room Response measurementss (SRR) in Ambisonics was proposed and validated and a set of SRRs was created as well as a procedure for making use of them in producttion. Work was also done on the needed filtering process in the delivery audio chain and researching appropriate equalization filters.
*3D Audio production tools: Binaural Home Studio (BHS) has been developed- It includes a set of plugins available in different formats covering most popular DAWs in the market. It also includes a Visualizer, providing an overall view of the production to the user in a more intuitive way. Work was also done on developing the 3D synthesizer tool to create new sounds in the 3D listening space. Finally, a binaural player has been developed for the dynamic binaural reproduction of spatial productions and it has been integrated in customized players for the 3D audio tours at demo sites.
*Binaural engine and system integration: A cross-platform binaural engine has been developed compatible with the BHS and the player, and optimized for playback on mobile and embedded platforms and supporting HQ HRTFs. Regarding HW, work was focused on improving an existing headtracking device to meet BINCI requirements and the development of enhanced firmware and bluetooth drivers. Regarding integration, work was done on integrating and testing the interoperability between modules provided by different partners and between material to be integrated or used by other component such as HRTFs and headphone equalizations.
*BINCI demonstrations: BINCI has been validated in real production environments through BINCI User Group. 3D audio artistic projects were supported covering a wide variety of genres and styles and provided BINCI with iterative end-user tests and feedback. BINCI has been also validated for the creation of new cultural experiences. Three productions have been developed for three cultural sites (Fundació Joan Miró, Alte Pinakothek, and St. Andrews Castle) and evaluated with more than 1000 visitors.
*Dissemination and exploitation: BINCI created channels for dissemination: website, @binci_EU twitter account, YouTube channel and dissemination materials (leaflets, poster, publications and AV demos). Partners presented BINCI at scientific conferences, cultural, and creative and music industry events. Dissemination activities have helped to reach target audiences, spread the word, capture the attention of end-users, and to get valuable insights for the commercialization of the project results. The Data Management Plan was produced and a BINCI community was set in Zenodo’s repository. Besides, partners carried out activities for monitoring the 3D audio market, current technologies and trends, define the exploitable results, the final exploitation model and strategy and the associated business plan.
* Audio production experiences and requirements: A User group was set to get a better understanding of the market demands, professional practices and needs. An online questionnaire was deployed in order to collect their requirements. Based on this, specifications of the BINCI tools were derived, which have been reviewed during the project. It was also established the roadmap for the BINCI demonstrations.
*Acoustic measurements: A dataset of high-resolution HRTF measurements and 3D scans was created and a HRTF individualization tool was implemented. An alternative HRTF individualization procedure was developed for the acquisition of HRTFs for children. A method for capturing Spatial Room Response measurementss (SRR) in Ambisonics was proposed and validated and a set of SRRs was created as well as a procedure for making use of them in producttion. Work was also done on the needed filtering process in the delivery audio chain and researching appropriate equalization filters.
*3D Audio production tools: Binaural Home Studio (BHS) has been developed- It includes a set of plugins available in different formats covering most popular DAWs in the market. It also includes a Visualizer, providing an overall view of the production to the user in a more intuitive way. Work was also done on developing the 3D synthesizer tool to create new sounds in the 3D listening space. Finally, a binaural player has been developed for the dynamic binaural reproduction of spatial productions and it has been integrated in customized players for the 3D audio tours at demo sites.
*Binaural engine and system integration: A cross-platform binaural engine has been developed compatible with the BHS and the player, and optimized for playback on mobile and embedded platforms and supporting HQ HRTFs. Regarding HW, work was focused on improving an existing headtracking device to meet BINCI requirements and the development of enhanced firmware and bluetooth drivers. Regarding integration, work was done on integrating and testing the interoperability between modules provided by different partners and between material to be integrated or used by other component such as HRTFs and headphone equalizations.
*BINCI demonstrations: BINCI has been validated in real production environments through BINCI User Group. 3D audio artistic projects were supported covering a wide variety of genres and styles and provided BINCI with iterative end-user tests and feedback. BINCI has been also validated for the creation of new cultural experiences. Three productions have been developed for three cultural sites (Fundació Joan Miró, Alte Pinakothek, and St. Andrews Castle) and evaluated with more than 1000 visitors.
*Dissemination and exploitation: BINCI created channels for dissemination: website, @binci_EU twitter account, YouTube channel and dissemination materials (leaflets, poster, publications and AV demos). Partners presented BINCI at scientific conferences, cultural, and creative and music industry events. Dissemination activities have helped to reach target audiences, spread the word, capture the attention of end-users, and to get valuable insights for the commercialization of the project results. The Data Management Plan was produced and a BINCI community was set in Zenodo’s repository. Besides, partners carried out activities for monitoring the 3D audio market, current technologies and trends, define the exploitable results, the final exploitation model and strategy and the associated business plan.
BINCI has the ambition of providing tools for the creative SMEs to lead the next binaural revolution for 3D audio content. BINCI aims at easing the handling of high quality tools for the audio professionals and making binaural listening a mainstream mode of content consumption.
BINCI has been highly successful in its efforts to meet the technological and industrial challenges, and has produced easy-to-use SW and HW tools for professional sound designers, artists and producers for the creation and delivery of 3D audio contents. BINCI solution innovates in several ways: improving audio management, allowing large-scale productions, providing 3D personalized HRTFs, delivering improved hardware for consumption and being compatible with multichannel installations.
BINCI’s impacts on increasing the competitiveness of the European creative industries and fostering exchanges between the creative industries and ICT solutions providers. BINCI impacts all stakeholders in the creative industries. BINCI tools for audio professionals have been proven to augment the creative possibilities and to perform well in terms of usability as well as output quality with a small learning curve. BINCI provides tools for consumers to enjoy the binaural 3D contents through mobile devices, stimulating its the demand. BINCI also offer new ways of providing engaging experiences for other industries such as cultural heritage, which has been proven with the creation of three 3D audio tours that obtained high rates and transformed the visit into an experience.
Besides, BINCI is also expected to nurture creative talents and youth employability due to its potential for stimulating CCI European markets, contribute to urban revitalisation by boosting up city attractiveness based on its creative and cultural assets, contributing to the design of novel creative and cultural intervention models based on immersive experiences through headphones and contribute to the registry, preservation and reinterpretation of European acoustic heritage.
BINCI has been highly successful in its efforts to meet the technological and industrial challenges, and has produced easy-to-use SW and HW tools for professional sound designers, artists and producers for the creation and delivery of 3D audio contents. BINCI solution innovates in several ways: improving audio management, allowing large-scale productions, providing 3D personalized HRTFs, delivering improved hardware for consumption and being compatible with multichannel installations.
BINCI’s impacts on increasing the competitiveness of the European creative industries and fostering exchanges between the creative industries and ICT solutions providers. BINCI impacts all stakeholders in the creative industries. BINCI tools for audio professionals have been proven to augment the creative possibilities and to perform well in terms of usability as well as output quality with a small learning curve. BINCI provides tools for consumers to enjoy the binaural 3D contents through mobile devices, stimulating its the demand. BINCI also offer new ways of providing engaging experiences for other industries such as cultural heritage, which has been proven with the creation of three 3D audio tours that obtained high rates and transformed the visit into an experience.
Besides, BINCI is also expected to nurture creative talents and youth employability due to its potential for stimulating CCI European markets, contribute to urban revitalisation by boosting up city attractiveness based on its creative and cultural assets, contributing to the design of novel creative and cultural intervention models based on immersive experiences through headphones and contribute to the registry, preservation and reinterpretation of European acoustic heritage.