The Sound Pixel Project
Traditional surround sound speaker systems are based on arranging 2 to 8 speakers around a listener. To create a general location of certain sounds, the same stream is played at different volumes in each speaker. This project aims at creating a large array of speakers, each capable of playing a unique audio stream, creating a genuine sense of sound location. To send audio to specific speakers, or clients, in the array, they must first be connected on a central server; this is done through broadcasting the server address information across a network. The audio files are then sent through a mixing program designated to control the audio flow between speakers while also preventing clipping, or the distortion heard when mixed audio surpasses the maximum threshold. The clients then connect, the server pushes configuration data, and audio playback begins. A custom frame was built to hold the prototype speaker array. This frame was required to be lightweight, easily assembled and disassembled, sturdy, and easily modified.
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Faculty mentors from the University of Missouri - Columbia:
Dale Musser, Assistant Professor Wenjun Zeng, Professor