What you hear on the radio rarely goes beyond the world of stereo, but a team at the BBC in the UK are working on the next evolution: 3D radio.
The concept is this: engineer a sound that can make the listener believes they’re hearing sound coming from multiple directions.
There have been headphones able to emulate this sound for years, with gamers encouraged to buy 5.1 and 7.1 virtual surround headsets to become more immersed in the soundscape.
But the BBC’s 3D radio concept goes beyond this, with the team responsible for the technology telling The Telegraph that it “should allow consumers to receive 3D sound from their existing radio and television speakers.”
Sadly, we have no idea if or when this technology will come to Australian radio stations. We doubt that it will benefit the talk radio stations out there, but documentary and entertainment programs, as well as the more creatively engineered music tracks could take advantage of the technology and truly immerse you when you’re listening.
