Sensaura
Encyclopedia
Sensaura, a division of Creative Technology
, provides sophisticated 3D audio technology for the interactive entertainment industry.
Following its origin as a research project at THORN EMI Central Research Laboratories ("CRL", based in Hayes
, United Kingdom) in 1991, Sensaura evolved to become the leading worldwide supplier of 3D audio technology. By 1998 Sensaura had licensed its technology to the three major audio chip manufacturers (ESS Technology, Crystal Semiconductor/Cirrus Logic
and Yamaha
), who at that time supplied 70% of the PC audio market. Subsequent major licensees included NVIDIA
, Analog Devices
, VIA Technologies
(expired, replaced by QSound) and C-Media Electronics
(expired, replacement not yet available).
In 1993 Sensaura released a CD sampler disc 'beyond stereo...' containing four tracks;
1. Roadside
2. Railway Station
3. RAF Band
4. Falla: Final Dance from "The Three-Cornered Hat"
These tracks, recorded from life illustrated what you could achieve in terms of 3D sound from a two channel stereo set-up and was clearly ahead of its time.
The prestigious MacRobert Award was presented to Sensaura by the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2001.
Sensaura technology has 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 Microsoft Xbox
hardware, the technology is also available as a middleware product, GameCODA
, for the Xbox, Sony PlayStation 2
and Nintendo GameCube
.
In December 2003 the Sensaura business and IP portfolio was bought by Creative Technology
. Sensaura continues to operate as an R&D division within Creative, however following a major reduction in staff numbers in March 2007, it is no longer supplying advanced audio technologies for PC sound cards, game consoles but now focusing on other product areas, including involvement with the OpenSL ES
standard.
Following further headcount reductions in 2008, the remaining Sensaura engineers have been absorbed into Creative's 3DLabs subsidiary.
Creative Technology
Creative Technology Ltd. is a Singapore-based global company headquartered in Jurong East, Singapore. The principal activities of the company and its subsidiaries consist of the design, manufacture and distribution of digitized sound and video boards, computers and related multimedia, and personal...
, provides sophisticated 3D audio technology for the interactive entertainment industry.
Following its origin as a research project at THORN EMI Central Research Laboratories ("CRL", based in Hayes
Hayes, Hillingdon
Hayes is a town in the London Borough of Hillingdon, West London. It is a suburban development situated west of Charing Cross. Hayes was developed in the late 19th and 20th centuries as an industrial locality to which residential districts were later added in order to house factory workers...
, United Kingdom) in 1991, Sensaura evolved to become the leading worldwide supplier of 3D audio technology. By 1998 Sensaura had licensed its technology to the three major audio chip manufacturers (ESS Technology, Crystal Semiconductor/Cirrus Logic
Cirrus Logic
Cirrus Logic is a fabless semiconductor supplier specializing in analog, mixed-signal, and audio DSP integrated circuits . They are presently headquartered in Austin, Texas. Their audio processors and audio converters are found in many professional audio and consumer entertainment products,...
and Yamaha
Yamaha
Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...
), who at that time supplied 70% of the PC audio market. Subsequent major licensees included NVIDIA
NVIDIA
Nvidia is an American global technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processors . Nvidia and chief rival AMD Graphics Techonologies have dominated the high performance GPU market, pushing other manufacturers to smaller, niche roles...
, Analog Devices
Analog Devices
Analog Devices, Inc. , known as ADI, is an American multinational semiconductor company specializing in data conversion and signal conditioning technology, headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts...
, VIA Technologies
VIA Technologies
VIA Technologies is a Taiwanese manufacturer of integrated circuits, mainly motherboard chipsets, CPUs, and memory, and is part of the Formosa Plastics Group. It is the world's largest independent manufacturer of motherboard chipsets...
(expired, replaced by QSound) and C-Media Electronics
C-Media
C-Media Electronics, Inc. is a Taiwanese computer hardware company that manufactures processors for PC audio and USB storage, and wireless audio devices.-Products:-PCI audio:*CMI8338*CMI8738-SX*CMI8738-LX*CMI8738-MX*CMI8768...
(expired, replacement not yet available).
In 1993 Sensaura released a CD sampler disc 'beyond stereo...' containing four tracks;
1. Roadside
2. Railway Station
3. RAF Band
4. Falla: Final Dance from "The Three-Cornered Hat"
These tracks, recorded from life illustrated what you could achieve in terms of 3D sound from a two channel stereo set-up and was clearly ahead of its time.
The prestigious MacRobert Award was presented to Sensaura by the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2001.
Sensaura technology has 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 Microsoft Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
hardware, the technology is also available as a middleware product, GameCODA
GameCODA
GameCODA is an audio middleware product by Sensaura designed for game developers to create realistic sound environments in video games. It allows development for the following platforms: PC, Xbox/Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube...
, for the Xbox, Sony PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
.
In December 2003 the Sensaura business and IP portfolio was bought by Creative Technology
Creative Technology
Creative Technology Ltd. is a Singapore-based global company headquartered in Jurong East, Singapore. The principal activities of the company and its subsidiaries consist of the design, manufacture and distribution of digitized sound and video boards, computers and related multimedia, and personal...
. Sensaura continues to operate as an R&D division within Creative, however following a major reduction in staff numbers in March 2007, it is no longer supplying advanced audio technologies for PC sound cards, game consoles but now focusing on other product areas, including involvement with the OpenSL ES
OpenSL ES
OpenSL ES is a royalty-free,cross-platform, hardware-accelerated,C-language audio API for 2D and 3D audio.It provides access to features such as 3D positional audio and MIDI playback....
standard.
Following further headcount reductions in 2008, the remaining Sensaura engineers have been absorbed into Creative's 3DLabs subsidiary.