//CES 2023: 
Real time, audio reactive, virtual reality environments

Edge Sound Research needed a truly unforgettable immersive experience to showcase their next gen speaker technology. Virtual Reality was an obvious medium to bring the experience to an entirely new level.

Exploring Uncharted Territory

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Edge Sound Research: With a degree in the visual arts, I tend to gravitate towards visual solutions. Development through a creative arts lens while wholly unconventional, can yield some interesting/unexpected results.Every problem out there has a solution if you look hard enough on Google. Seeking answers is the core of development. While you almost never find the “complete” answer out there, you always find a way to make it whole, thus making it your own.These 1,000 little sprints followed by eventual victories are the precise bits of development that keep me wanting more.
Zack Pennachi: With a degree in the visual arts, I tend to gravitate towards visual solutions. Development through a creative arts lens while wholly unconventional, can yield some interesting/unexpected results.Every problem out there has a solution if you look hard enough on Google. Seeking answers is the core of development. While you almost never find the “complete” answer out there, you always find a way to make it whole, thus making it your own.These 1,000 little sprints followed by eventual victories are the precise pieces of development that keep me wanting more.
ESR was looking to enter uncharted territory in the virtual world by exploring real time audio-reactive virtual environments. These environments needed to be visually engaging and the reactivity needed to be dynamic enough between tracks to really have an impact/leave an impression.
Compliment the tech: Edge Sound Research’s product the resonX is already a mind bending and immersion inducing piece of technology. It was important to highlight this technology in a complimentary way with the experience and not let the experience diminish the impact of the resonX. 
Creating unforgettable firsts: Above all else, the biggest goal was to give users a lasting impression/memorable experience that they could leave the weekend with wanting more. It was a really big challenge because every company at CES is trying to be that lasting impact.

Ideate, prototype, gather feedback, repeat

  • A lot of what we we’re looking to achieve hadn’t been previously done before and a lot of research was required before we even began development
  • A lot of what you see in the final product was only realized after countless hours of testing, gathering feedback, ideating, and repeating that process 50+ times
  • One of the best parts of Unreal is just how quickly you can ideate and prototype any concepts thrown your way.
Goals for this project:
  • Visually represent real time audio in an immersive and dynamic way
  • Immerse the user in an ever-changing environment driven by sound
  • Create a world that the user is compelled to continue exploring which will in-turn allow the user to experience the resonX more
  • Allow users to connect the tactile audio sensations from the resonX to a visual equivalency that envelops them in Virtual Reality

skills utilized on this project:

100% of this project was created by me without the assistance from any other developers/designers :)

  • Unreal Engine Development
  • Custom Audio Reactive Niagara System Development
  • Custom Audio Reactive Component Development
  • Virtual Reality Development
  • After Effects motion design
  • 3d modeling in Blender
  • Spotify API integration development

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