ASPIRE Lab
The ASPIRE Lab is a spatial audio studio built for high-fidelity research, composition, performance, and immersive experimentation. Housing over 300 loudspeakers across several cutting-edge audio arrays, this lab offers the one of the most comprehensive and flexible auditory display environments on campus for sonic exploration.
The lab, originally developed by Dr. Mike Roan with assistance from Tanner Upthegrove at Randolph Hall and recently relocated to ICAT’s Media Building, was reimagined as a modular and immersive sound space. The relocation involved transferring over 200 loudspeakers and acoustic treatment materials to preserve its legacy and integrate it into the ICAT's studio ecosystem.
Key Features
The Lab includes but is not limited to:
Tesseract Array (Near-field sound array): a 32-speaker cube delivering tight spatial accuracy close to the listener.
Wall-mounted Speakers (Far-field sound array): ~50 speakers mounted across the walls to produce environmental and ambient soundscapes.
Wave Field Synthesis (WFS) Arrays: ~200 ultra-dense speaker arrays for directional audio projection and lifelike spatial immersion that can move through space.
Bone Conduction headphones.
Acoustic Treatment: the lab is fully sound-treated for precision research and clean reproduction.
House Computer: a macOS computer connected for complete control of speaker arrays.
Measurement Tools: acoustic measurement microphones are available for calibration and experiments.
Use Cases
Spatial Audio Composition
Acoustic Research and Sound Simulation
Performance and Installation Art
Technical Experimentation
Teaching and student projects
Prototyping and Development
Who Can Use the ASPIRE Lab?
The ASPIRE Lab is open to various users, with primary access intended for faculty-led projects and student collaborations. It also serves as a teaching space, accommodating up to eight students at a time for coursework and lab-based instruction on Linux-based computers with digital mixer interfaces. In addition to internal university use, the lab welcomes visiting artists and researchers who wish to explore immersive audio environments.
Beyond academic and research functions, the lab is also designed to host audio performances and installations; projects such as Spatial Audio Tidepool and Liminal Spaces are perfect examples of how the space can be used to its full creative and technical potential. If you've previously created work for The Cube, consider the ASPIRE Lab your new playground, with fresh tools and spatial possibilities ready to be explored.
Access
When the lab becomes fully operational during the summer, you can request access or reserve the space through the studio reservation portal. If no link is shown here, the lab is not currently reservable.