Sensaura Ltd., a division of Creative Technology, was a company that provided 3D audio effect technology for the interactive entertainment industry. Sensaura technology was shipped on more than 24 million game consoles and 150 million PCs (on soundcards, motherboards and external USB audio devices). Formed in 1991, Sensaura developed a range of technologies for incorporating 3D audio into PC's and consoles.
Sensaura technology was shipped on more than 24 million game consoles and 150 million PCs (on soundcards, motherboards and external USB audio devices). As well as being licensed directly for the first Microsoft Xbox hardware, the technology was also available as a middleware product, GameCODA, for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube.[7][8] In 2000, Sensaura developed a spatial audio plugin for the WinAmp media player which was downloaded 18 million times.[citation needed]
In December 2003, the Sensaura business and IP portfolio was bought by Creative Technology.[2][9] Sensaura continued to operate as an R&D division within Creative, however following a major reduction in staff numbers in March 2007, it ceased supplying audio technologies for PC sound cards, game consoles but focused on other product areas, including involvement with the OpenSL ES standard.[citation needed] Following further headcount reductions in 2008, the remaining Sensaura engineers were absorbed into Creative's 3DLabs subsidiary.[citation needed]
Prior to the acquisition of Sensaura by Creative Technology in 2003, some employees left to form Sonaptic Ltd. Licensing Sensaura's technology, Sonaptic specialized in 3D positional audio for mobile devices.[10] In 2007, Wolfson Microelectronics acquired Sonaptic, wanting to expand their reach within the audio market.[11]
Sensaura's 3D positional audio technology was designed to build upon the industry standard Microsoft DirectSound3D API, which allowed games to have high quality audio in three dimensions.
Virtual Ear features common HRTF profiles (libraries) that can be selected by the end-user.
Digital Ear is a process of tuning HRTF filter libraries to the individual's ear shape by creating a CAD model with physical implementation.
MacroFX simulates 'near-field proximity effects' when objects move very close to the listener.
ZoomFX to simulate sounds of a specific size instead of a point source.
3D speaker technology
By using MultiDrive 5.1 and XTC cross-talk cancellation, Sensaura's 3D speaker technology can create accurate 3D audio within a normal 5.1 surround sound system.
XTC cross-talk cancellation for 3D from speakers (as opposed to from headphones).
Independent HRTF calculation for surround speakers to give full 3D audio from 5.1
MultiDrive 5.1 integrates front and rear sound hemispheres on 5.1 speaker setups.
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