A 16-speaker audio visual display interface and control system

Abstract

This paper details the CHESS system developed at the University of Wollongong. CHESS aims to provide a hardware and software platform for the creation, manipulation and playback of complex three-dimensional sound scenes. Ambisonic techniques are used to render a virtual sound scene on sixteen speakers arranged hemispherically around a user. A 3D visual representation of the scene is provided, which may be viewed on one or more display devices, including a virtual reality headset. User input may be provided via a 3D glove. These elements are combined to produce highly configurable immersive audio-visual applications with true three-dimensional audio. A control system has been developed for this system, which allows users to easily create complicated applications. We conclude by considering an example application of the system: cockpit and air traffic control systems.