Squarehead’s Audioscope, Zoom in Audio Using 315 Microphones

Audioscope is a concept by the Squarehead’s Norwegian physicists Morgan Kjølerbakken and Vibeke Jahr. It’s a system created for isolating audio spots from all kind of sources, even noisy environments. It was developed for basketball stadiums, where Audioscope can focus on a single element in the crowd. For example, you can hear the pop of a bubblegum bubble in the middle of the game.

Audioscope is a high-performance audio capturing system which allows the user to record and zoom in on sound sources like you zoom in on visual images with a camera. Through a highly intuitive graphical user-interface with an overview video monitor, the operator selects the on-screen source which he or she wishes to focus on. All the sound from the selected source is amplified while the surrounding noise is suppressed. Up to five sources of interest can be selected simultaneously. In a ball game the operator can listen to both coaching benches, the referee and follow the game on the pitch.

Audioscope packs 315 microphones in a carbon-fiber dish above the stadium. An operator can control all the mics, using a control station where he can monitor the picture and move the cursor to the source, using a trackball. The audio signal coming from all microphones is stored in separate channels and the operator can select up to five audio sources simultaneously.

The system is connected through the Audioscope Connection Unit, which controls the communication between one Audioscope Dish and up to three AudioScope Control Stations. One Connection Unit can also be connected to as many as five EVS units and receive time codes to synchronize replays.

You can hear some examples in the following video:

For more information, visit Squarehead. (via Wired)

Thanks to Charles Maynes for the link!