Vivid telecommunications thanks to an advanced audio codec

Conference calls that almost feel as if the participants were in the same room? This dream could soon come true thanks to the Immersive Voice and Audio Services (IVAS) codec, a technology that creates a spatial experience during phone calls or teleconferences. IVAS makes conversations feel more vivid, which improves communication. 

We live in a multidimensional world. That’s why our senses are designed to convey a spatial impression to the brain. So far, however, telecommunications has delivered a rather one-dimensional experience: handsets produce mono audio—even though the devices themselves, for example when used with headphones, have long been capable of reproducing sound in stereo. As a result, until now it’s been very strenuous for the brain to process telephone conversations. This is particularly true for conference calls, which present the brain with the additional task of disentangling the many voices coming from the loudspeaker and match them to the call’s participants. No wonder many people feel more exhausted after a teleconference than they do after face-to-face meetings.

This is where the IVAS codec, developed by Fraunhofer IIS in cooperation with 11 other companies, comes in. It creates the feeling that the people in a teleconference or phone conversation are all sitting in the same room. This impression relies first and foremost on the fact that the codec can produce multidimensional sound.

A sense of space in telecommunications

Essentially, an audio codec is a software or hardware component that is used to compress and decompress audio data. Codecs are crucial for the storage and transmission of audio content, as they can reduce the file size while maintaining the quality of a sound recording or transmission. IVAS is a new codec developed specifically for immersive communication in 5G mobile networks and has been selected as standard in the 3GPP mobile communications consortium. Accordingly, IVAS is designed for use primarily in the telecommunications sector. It’s based on the Enhanced Voice Services (EVS) codec, which is already built into today’s smartphones and is standard in most mobile networks around the world. That means users are already using EVS—without necessarily being aware of the fact. IVAS also offers functions for encoding and playback of stereo, multichannel, and ambisonics audio, ensuring high-quality reproduction of surround sound and soundscapes.

IVAS opens up numerous interesting areas of application, such as professional use, integration in VR and metaverse communication, or various leisure scenarios. For example, IVAS makes it easy for visitors to a special event—a concert, say, or a beach vacation—to share their sound experiences with people who aren’t there with them. Thanks to IVAS, a simple phone call lets the people at the other end feel that they are experiencing the sound of the sea on the beach or the musical drama of a live concert. That means IVAS technology can make a special experience even more intense for conversation partners.

The audio experience of the future

The IVAS codec is now the standard for immersive audio in 5G mobile networks. Development work on hardware-specific software is currently being finalized with a view to installing this in the next generation of smartphones. In addition, mobile network providers must activate the service to enable “IVAS calls.” A world of more lively telephone conversations awaits—both in conference calls and in people’s free time on the beach or at a concert—with the promise of less fatigue and fewer misunderstandings.