Establishing New Spatial Audio Technology with UEC: Jump-out Sounds Following the Listener Without Headphones.
Lada Production Co., Ltd., in joint research with the University of Electro-Communications, has established a new spatial audio (wavefront synthesis) technology. It enables 'jump-out' sound images that follow moving visitors in real-time without headphones, suitable for theme parks and museums.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 28, 2026 at 19:10
- 🔍 Collected: April 28, 2026 at 10:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 28, 2026 at 16:31 (5h 59m after Collected)
## Key Points of This Announcement
- Sound images can 'jump out' in front of visitors without the need for headphones.
- Sound images can be moved in real-time, following the visitor's movements.
- Sound can be delivered only to specific areas, suppressing leakage outside those zones.
- Operates in real-time on standard PCs, reaching a stage ready for actual production scales.
Lada Production Co., Ltd. (Minami-Aoyama, Tokyo; CEO: Ryo Harada) has established a new spatial audio (wavefront synthesis) technology in joint research with Professor Yoichi Haneda's group at the University of Electro-Communications. This research will be officially published by the University on May 6, 2026.
Our company will implement this technology as an atmospheric tool for experience-based content where visitors freely move around, such as theme parks, horror attractions, museums, brand experience spaces, permanent IP exhibits, and interactive art.
■ Use Case Scenarios
This is a new spatial audio experience shared by everyone present without headphones. For example, the following productions and services can be constructed:
1. Following Sound — Horror/Thrill Attractions
Footsteps sneaking up from behind, whispers grazing the ear, or a presence moving away—matched to the visitor's position and movement. This enhances immersion and terror purely through sound, without relying on visuals or lighting.
2. Area-Specific Sound — Brand Experience, Multilingual Exhibits, Zoning
Different sounds can be played simultaneously in different areas within the same venue. This is expected for scene switching in brand spaces, simultaneous multilingual announcements, and avoiding sound interference between adjacent exhibits.
3. Sound Jumping from Person to Person — IP Content/Interactive Experiences
A sound heard at one visitor's ear can 'fly' to another's. This can be used for participatory content featuring characters, interactive art, or attractions designed around communication between visitors.
■ Novelty of the Research (Summary)
Technologies for creating floating sound images and technologies for delivering sound to specific areas have previously been researched separately. Combining both and controlling them in real-time was considered difficult due to computational heavy-lifting. This research established an algorithm that integrates both and runs in real-time on standard PCs. It has reached a stage where 'moving sound images limited to specific areas' can be handled directly in production environments.
■ Background of Joint Research
In our work designing audio for experience-based content, we frequently faced challenges like 'placing sound images in space regardless of speaker positions' or 'delivering different sounds to each visitor walking around.' To solve these, we partnered with Professor Haneda's group, leaders in wavefront synthesis, and conducted verification from a production standpoint since the early stages of development.
■ Future Developments
We will conduct demonstrations at various events. We invite those in charge of theme parks, brand experiences, and IP content to experience the demo and discuss potential projects.
■ Primary Information
- UEC News Release: 'Established real-time wavefront synthesis method limiting reproduction area of aerial sound images' (April 28, 2026)
- International Conference: IEEE ICASSP 2026 (Scheduled for May 6, 2026)
- Sound images can 'jump out' in front of visitors without the need for headphones.
- Sound images can be moved in real-time, following the visitor's movements.
- Sound can be delivered only to specific areas, suppressing leakage outside those zones.
- Operates in real-time on standard PCs, reaching a stage ready for actual production scales.
Lada Production Co., Ltd. (Minami-Aoyama, Tokyo; CEO: Ryo Harada) has established a new spatial audio (wavefront synthesis) technology in joint research with Professor Yoichi Haneda's group at the University of Electro-Communications. This research will be officially published by the University on May 6, 2026.
Our company will implement this technology as an atmospheric tool for experience-based content where visitors freely move around, such as theme parks, horror attractions, museums, brand experience spaces, permanent IP exhibits, and interactive art.
■ Use Case Scenarios
This is a new spatial audio experience shared by everyone present without headphones. For example, the following productions and services can be constructed:
1. Following Sound — Horror/Thrill Attractions
Footsteps sneaking up from behind, whispers grazing the ear, or a presence moving away—matched to the visitor's position and movement. This enhances immersion and terror purely through sound, without relying on visuals or lighting.
2. Area-Specific Sound — Brand Experience, Multilingual Exhibits, Zoning
Different sounds can be played simultaneously in different areas within the same venue. This is expected for scene switching in brand spaces, simultaneous multilingual announcements, and avoiding sound interference between adjacent exhibits.
3. Sound Jumping from Person to Person — IP Content/Interactive Experiences
A sound heard at one visitor's ear can 'fly' to another's. This can be used for participatory content featuring characters, interactive art, or attractions designed around communication between visitors.
■ Novelty of the Research (Summary)
Technologies for creating floating sound images and technologies for delivering sound to specific areas have previously been researched separately. Combining both and controlling them in real-time was considered difficult due to computational heavy-lifting. This research established an algorithm that integrates both and runs in real-time on standard PCs. It has reached a stage where 'moving sound images limited to specific areas' can be handled directly in production environments.
■ Background of Joint Research
In our work designing audio for experience-based content, we frequently faced challenges like 'placing sound images in space regardless of speaker positions' or 'delivering different sounds to each visitor walking around.' To solve these, we partnered with Professor Haneda's group, leaders in wavefront synthesis, and conducted verification from a production standpoint since the early stages of development.
■ Future Developments
We will conduct demonstrations at various events. We invite those in charge of theme parks, brand experiences, and IP content to experience the demo and discuss potential projects.
■ Primary Information
- UEC News Release: 'Established real-time wavefront synthesis method limiting reproduction area of aerial sound images' (April 28, 2026)
- International Conference: IEEE ICASSP 2026 (Scheduled for May 6, 2026)