Are you ready to suspend your disbelief? Are you ready to accept a new truth? Our conception of the real is inavoidably shaped by perception. Through sensorial inputs that we see, hear, and feel, we experience our individual impression of truth and reality. Immersion is a state of consciousness where the awareness of the physical self is transformed by being surrounded in an artificial environment. The greater the suspension of disbelief, the greater the degree of presence achieved. In creating communal immersive experiences we have the opportunity to imagine new perceptions of reality, that through our individual senses are also shared and experienced collectively.

This panel discussion explores visions and experiences alike. Where are we heading to in terms of VR experiences, 3D Sound and Fulldome Media? Artists, musicians, coders and festival makers discuss the direction that virtual reality (VR) expereinces, 3D sound and Fulldome media is heading towards, as well as different perspectives and implications of immersive experiences of various formats.

This discussion includes a live demonstration of Ambisonic 3D sound through the IKO 3D audio speaker. With the IKO, the audio technology company sonible and the Institute for Electronic Music and Acoustics at Graz University of the Arts paved the way for new innovative applications in the field of 3D audio: sound art, virtual reality, measurement technology and much more. Complex algorithms allow the IKO speakers to send beams in any direction. By means of wall and ceiling reflections, the IKO creates a sound space that draws the listener into the middle of media and artistic events, making it possible to create highly immersive auditory impressions with a single sound body.