Dinkum Ngwa Mkpanaka by Tobias Kappeler is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 Ihe Nrite A' Design Award nke Igwe in Nhazi Teknụzụ Mkpanaka, Ngwa na Sọftụwia Competition Category.

IgweMkpanaka· 2022

Dinkum Ngwa Mkpanaka

by Tobias Kappeler

Client: Tobias Kappeler Design

Ihe Nrite A' Design Award nke Igwe Winner in Mkpanaka Category

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The Design

About Dinkum Ngwa Mkpanaka

Ederede Akwụkwọ: Dinkum bụ ngwa mkpanaka maka nkwukọrịta ụda dabere n'ebe. Dinkum na-etinye mkparịta ụka dị anya n'ime gburugburu ụda a pụrụ ịhazi. Ndị ọrụ nwere ike ịhọrọ otu n'ime ụdị ọnụ ụlọ atọ, akọwara dị ka nke nsoopụta, nke nkịtị, na nke ime ihe egwu. Ndị ọrụ nwekwara ike ịhọrọ ụda azụ ambisonic, ụdị ụda gbara okirikiri zuru ezu, nke kwekọrọ na ụdị mkparịta ụka na ndị sonyere. Enwere ike ịgbanwe anya dị n'etiti gị na ndị ọzọ sonyere oku n'oge oku ahụ. Ebumnobi ya bụ ịkwalite mmetụta nke ịnọ n'ebe ahụ na ime ka mkparịta ụka dị anya dịkwuo n'ụdị eke na ọ na-aga nke ọma.

The Recognition

About the Ihe Nrite A' Design Award nke Igwe

Dinkum Ngwa Mkpanaka meriri A' Design Award nke Igwe, nnabata dị ugwu e nyere design ndị dị mma nke na-emezu ihe ndị a chọrọ n'ọrụ na ụlọ ọrụ nke a na-atụ anya n'ihe e kere eke ndị e mere nke ọma. Ndị meriri na Igwe na-egosi nka buru ibu, ọkachamara dị elu, nghọta ọkachamara na ikike imepụta nke ndị kere ha. A na-atụ anya na Dinkum Ngwa Mkpanaka ga-abụ ihe e kere eke a na-asọpụrụ nke ukwuu, a na-eto na a hụrụ n'anya nke bụ ihe bara uru ma dị ọhụrụ. Design a meriri A' Design Award nke Igwe na-ejikọta ụzọ kacha mma nke ụlọ ọrụ ma nwee àgwà teknụzụ kwesịrị ekwesị jikọtara na ihe ọmụma na talent. A na-asọpụrụ Dinkum Ngwa Mkpanaka maka nlezianya ya ma e mere ya ka ọ nye mmeziwanye ndụ nke na-enyere aka ime ka ụwa bụrụ ebe ka mma.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Dinkum is a spatial audio communication tool that allows users to immerse themselves in customisable audio environments. Users can select from three room sizes (intimate, casual, adventurous) and different ambisonic (full-sphere surround sound format) background sounds that match the type of conversation and people they are speaking to. People can change their distance to other participants throughout the conversation, which adds an extra layer of interaction to remote conversations. Dinkum can increase participants sense of presence and intimacy in the conversation and increase conversation fluency.
Dimensions & Packaging: Dinkum was developed using the 3D Tune-In Toolkit real-time binaural spatialisation tool. This was utilised as a VST plugin within Ableton Live. The 3D Tune in Toolkit simulates the reverberation of different room sizes, the distance to the listener and the direction to the sound source. For user testing, I’ve developed a signal processing path that allows me to send an audio recording from a binaural microphone through Zoom.
Tags: Communication, Spatial Audio, Interaction design, Immersive experiences, Audio & Sound, Mobile application, Teleconferencing, Conversations,
Production Technology: The project was developed through iterative prototyping, intensive user testing and a strong collaboration between academia and industry. I used different plugins for the spatialisation of mono audio files in a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) and tested the experiences with different people. Furthermore, I built a binaural microphone for in-depth user testing with multiple people. I established a signal-processing path that allowed me to test with various users while being remote.
Design Challenge: The challenge was to create an environment that allowed me to test with the necessary fidelity and change the audio in real-time. An additional challenge was the visual representation of a 3D space with characters on a small smartphone screen which is easy to understand, interact with and is visually pleasing and unique. I overcame this through prototyping the interactions on the phone while affecting the audio and visual interface in real-time through OSC protocol and user feedback.
Research: The project started with an academic literature review and interviews on real-time spatialisation technologies. After intensive ideation on different applications, I moved into early experimentation and prototyping to get a better feel and understanding of the technology and its value. I used an iterative and human-centred design approach focusing on the experience. Experiments were analyzed with questionnaires with a Likert scale focusing on the presence and intimacy.
Inspiration: Throughout the pandemic, I realised the difficulties of remote collaboration and the lack of attention to the audio side of the experience. We are flooded with visual stimuli but a lot of these experiences lack the emotional aspect of the experience. User research and secondary research into spatial audio technologies strongly informed the development. As a music producer and DJ, I’m fascinated by the emotional characteristics of audio.
Project Duration: The project started in January 2021 and was developed by myself for my MA/MSc Innovation Design Engineering until June 2021. The project will be exhibited at the yearly graduation show of the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London in June 2021.
Operation Flow: To start a conversation, select the participants you want to speak to, select the room size which matches your conversations and participants, (Intimate, Casual, Adventurous) select the ambisonic background sounds and then start the call. Users can leave the room and create a new room during the conversations with individual participants. For recurring conversations, users can save groups and settings. In case a conversation drastically changes the topic.
Team Members: Tobias Kappeler