Dinkum Mobile Application by Tobias Kappeler

Dinkum Mobile Application by Tobias Kappeler is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 A' Design Award na Bakal in Disenyo ng Teknolohiyang Mobile, Aplikasyon at Software Competition Category.

BakalMobile· 2022

Dinkum Mobile Application

by Tobias Kappeler

Client: Tobias Kappeler Design

A' Design Award na Bakal Winner in Mobile Category

21,937

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #127093

Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Dinkum Mobile Application

Ang Dinkum ay isang mobile application para sa spatial audio communication. Inilalagay ng Dinkum ang mga malalayong pag-uusap sa loob ng mga customizable na audio environment. Maaaring pumili ang mga user ng isa sa tatlong sukat ng silid, na inilalarawan bilang intimate, casual, at adventurous. Maaari ring pumili ang mga user ng mga ambisonic background sound, isang full sphere surround sound format, na tumutugma sa uri ng pag-uusap at sa mga kalahok. Maaaring baguhin ang distansya sa ibang kalahok sa panahon ng tawag. Ang layunin nito ay dagdagan ang pakiramdam ng presensya at gawing mas natural at maayos ang daloy ng malalayong pag-uusap.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award na Bakal

Ang Dinkum Mobile Application ay nagwagi ng A' Design Award na Bakal, isang prestihiyosong pagkilalang iginagawad sa mga mahuhusay na disenyong tumutugon sa mga propesyonal at pang-industriyang kinakailangang inaasahan sa mga mahusay na pagkakadisenyong likha. Ang mga nagwagi ng Bakal ay nagpapakita ng dakilang husay, mataas na espesyalisasyon, dalubhasang pag-unawa at kakayahang malikhain ng kanilang mga lumikha. Inaasahang ang Dinkum Mobile Application ay isang lubos na pinahahalagahan, hinahangaan at minamahal na likhang praktikal at makabago. Ang disenyong ito na nagwagi ng A' Design Award na Bakal ay nagsasama ng pinakamahuhusay na kasanayan ng industriya at may mahuhusay na katangiang teknikal na may kasamang kaalaman at talento. Ang Dinkum Mobile Application ay iginagalang dahil sa kaingatan nito at idinisenyo upang maghatid ng mga pagpapabuti sa kalidad ng buhay na tumutulong gawing mas mabuting lugar ang mundo.

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