Amid the chitter-chatter and uproar of the Apple WWDC, Nokia took a step forward in telecom technology too. And it is groundbreaking. The tech giant successfully tested out the “world’s first” audio and video call using 3D spatial audio. Let’s find out more about it.
According to a report by The Verge, Nokia achieved this feat by using the 3GPP Immersive Video and Audio Services (IVAS) codec over a cellular network. With this IVAS codec, callers can experience a spatially dynamic audio environment in real-time. This offers a really enhanced calling experience.
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So our traditional method allows phone calls to be made that are monophonic. This means that these calls are limited to a single channel. Now, spatial audio allows audio to be delivered via multiple channels. So callers can perceive sound from various directions.
Spatial audio is not a new concept if we think of it. We have been using it on listening devices for a while now. So why is Nokia’s attempt so special? Well, this exercise was Nokia’s attempt to democratise this experience and offer it to a lot more users so that they are able to leverage spatial audio through the IVAS codec.
Speaking about the same, Jenni Lukander, President of Nokia, said this experiment shows how the technology can be integrated into the forthcoming 5G upgrade, 5G Advanced. He even said that it can become standardised in the future when network providers, chipset manufacturers, and handset manufacturers will be able to use spatial audio in their products.
According to experts, there’s still some time before this technology is widely used. But still, this is a big advancement in itself.
