Immersive audio-augmented environments: the LISTEN project

The author reports on the LISTEN project, a research project funded by the European Commission in the context of the Information Society Technology (IST) program. LISTEN, which started in January 2001, will provide users with intuitive access to personalized and situated audio information spaces while they naturally explore everyday environments. A new form of multisensory content is proposed to enhance the sensual impact of a broad spectrum of applications ranging from art installations to entertainment events. This is achieved by augmenting the physical environment through a dynamic soundscape, which users experience over motion-tracked wireless headphones. Immersive audio-augmented environments are created by combining high-definition spatial audio rendering technology with advanced user modeling methods. These allow for adapting the content to the users´ individual spatial behavior. The project will produce several prototypes and a virtual reality based authoring tool. Technological innovations will be validated under laboratory conditions, whilst the prototypes will be evaluated in public exhibitions