AMBITION
VRACE aims at providing physically correct and perceptually convincing soundscapes in VR. Virtual and Augmented Reality have the potential to change the way we interact with computers. The audio part is essential to the realism of the experience. This becomes evident when considering how people orientate themselves in space. Unlike seeing, hearing allows us to perceive instantly from all angles, and plays a leading role in giving us clues where to look at.
To support natural orientation in VR/AR, the visual and auditory information has to closely match, as otherwise the illusion is shattered and the experience is not convincing. Therefore within VRACE, Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) are trained in all VR-audio-related domains: physical modelling, sound propagation, audio rendering and psychoacoustics.
To cover these technical competences, the programme includes several technical as well as complementary skills trainings and the attendance of relevant conferences:
- mandatory basic trainings providing knowledge in general acoustics
- training through individual research projects
- advanced trainings, individually selected by the researchers and their supervisors
- transferable skills trainings such as Quality Management, IPR and Open Research, Entrepreneurship etc.
- public tutorial courses
- conferences such as the ICA 2019 in Aachen, ISMA 2019 in Detmold or the ViennaTalk 2020
Both basic trainings and advanced trainings comprise research-oriented and application-oriented elements and make the training concept in VRACE well-suited and unique. The expertise of industrial and scientific partners in the consortium is beneficially incorporated in the training concept to bridge the gap between research innovation and marketed products.
In this way, the VRACE researchers will become the experts that are needed on the European market in order to advance methodologies in this cutting-edge technology.