Inside the audio innovation arena

Go to the Pompidou Center, in the heart of Paris, to discover the headquarters of IRCAM: the Institute for Research and Coordination Acoustic/Music. It is here, in the premises of this forty-year-old institution, that the IRCAM Amplify project was born, a company that positions itself as the link between the world of research and that of industry, a kind of keystone of well-oiled mechanics, which in addition to allowing innovations internal to IRCAM to emerge in a commercial form, acts as a catalyst for industry and for research. On site, there are various studios, laboratories and concert halls where scientific research, musical creation and technological innovation are combined. The projects led by Ircam Amplify touch on various fields such as sound design, 3D audio, speech synthesis, new instruments or gesture and sound interaction. At the border between research and industry, science and emotions, IRCAM Amplify has a clear mission: to offer tools to those who make up the soundtrack of our time.

IRCAM Amplify was born at the initiative of Nathalie Birocheau, managing director, and Hugues Vinet, scientific director. Both come from IRCAM, where they held the positions of director of development and valorization respectively, and director of research. With this launch, their objective was to create a subsidiary that could valorize the results of research conducted at IRCAM, by transforming them into innovative products or services, Nathalie Birocheau declares: “With the launch of this company, we are offering the possibility for many companies to benefit from IRCAM's expertise, thanks to useful innovations in many sectors such as health, entertainment, education or mobility.”

Based on the know-how and reputation of IRCAM, recognized internationally as a center of interdisciplinary excellence in sound and music sciences and technologies, the start-up benefits from the expertise of more than 200 researchers, engineers, artists and students, who work every year on themes ranging from acoustics to cognition, including sound synthesis, spatialization, gestural interaction or musical representation. “IRCAM Amplify is a kind of natural extension of IRCAM” declares Nathalie Birocheau. “It is a company that offers solutions that meet the needs and expectations of end users, while respecting the values of the institute: scientific excellence, artistic creativity and social ethics.”

In detail, IRCAM Amplify is working on the development of sound solutions on three main areas. First, “Sound as space,” which describes the design of immersive and interactive sound environments that create unique sensory and emotional experiences. For example, IRCAM Amplify has developed a mobile application that allows visitors to the Louvre Museum to immerse themselves in the sound universe of the works on display, using 3D spatialization technology. Second axis, “Sound as an interface” which consists in the use of sound as a means of interaction between the user and his environment, whether to communicate, learn or be entertained. An example: the design of a device that allows deaf or hard of hearing children to learn to speak through expressive and adaptive speech synthesis.

And finally, the third axis, “Sound as matter” which describes the exploration of the possibilities offered by sound as a creative material, which can be modified, transformed or combined with other media. On the subject, IRCAM Amplify has carried out a project that allows musicians to compose new melodies using artificial intelligence. Of course, all these areas are themes that RCAM was already working on before the launch of Amplify, but as Nathalie Birocheau reminds us, “The fact of developing products on these themes plays a catalytic role for the work of research teams.” Because in fact, when an invention is translated into a marketed product, this makes it possible to accumulate a certain amount of information that can only be collected when used in situ. Thus, research feeds industry, industry feeds research, creating a true virtuous circle.

Although this subsidiary is still very young, it does not lack ambitions, since in the long term, IRCAM Amplify has set itself some goals of strengthening the influence and impact of IRCAM in the broad sense. In the medium term, IRCAM Amplify wishes to support the digital and cultural transformation of businesses, by providing them with sound solutions adapted to their challenges and values. Participate in education and culture, by making the sound accessible and understandable by all, and by promoting the diversity and richness of sound expressions. Support artistic and musical creation, by offering artists tools and spaces for experimentation.

And finally, in the more or less long term, IRCAM Amplify wants to embark on a new adventure, by also becoming a start-up incubator. Although the project is indeed in the pipeline, Nathalie Birocheau declares that the incubation of innovative companies in the field of sound will begin when they have met “The rare pearl” she says “We have encountered a lot of very promising projects, and we are continuing our research.” A real link between fundamental research and applied research, between science and art, between technology and emotion. IRCAM Amplify wants to be the vector of tomorrow's sound, an innovative, creative and human wave.