See & Hear!
Chances are pretty good you play games with a number of wonderful sounds (in addition to the soundtrack, that is). Sounds that tell you something wonderful, like a crit, has happened. Sounds that tell you you’ve been hit with a negative status effect. Sounds that tell you something’s about to jump out from behind that wall and try to kick your ass. For those with hearing impairments, however, those little audio cues aren’t exactly accessible. And that’s where Audio Radar comes in.
Launched at CES 2024, Audio Radar allows the hearing impaired to “see the sound” (according to AirDrop Gaming LLC, the company behind it). And the setup couldn’t be more simple; the device plugs into a console or PC and converts audio data into lights. Said lights are set up around the screen, and light up in the direction of the given sound with colors representing the type of sound. Red is representative of enemy sounds, while green is neutral or ambient sounds.
Alongside the device, AirDrop Gaming also launched an SDK. This will allow developers to incorporate Audio Radar into their games moving forward. And while it’s true that many older games likely won’t support the device, it does have its own software to interpret stereo or surround sound audio on the fly for non-compliant games.
While it’s still early going, several major companies have shown interest in the technology. According to AirDrop CEO Tim Murphy, Logitech is currently “providing support as we further develop our product and design our go-to-market strategy.” In addition, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was seen at the booth on the opening day of the show. So it’s definitely going places.
While Audio Radar has just launched, it’ll still be some time until it ships to a wider market later this year. In the meantime, AirDrop will continue to develop products for the deaf and hearing-impaired gamers of the world. As of right now, though, Audio Radar works on PC, as well as Xbox and PlayStation consoles.
Source: Engadget
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