Nokia‘s CEO Pekka Lundmark made a phone call using a new technology called “immersive audio and video.” According to the company, their new calling technology improves the quality of a call, adding a three-dimensional effect for a more realistic listening experience. The demonstration call was held with Stefan Lindström, Finland’s Ambassador of Digitalisation and New Technologies.

Nokia expects their 3D calling technology to become the new standard

Nokia expects their new 3D calling method to become a standard soon. So they encouraged network providers, chipset manufacturers, and handset manufacturers to work on the latest technology and implement the ‘immersive’ calling capability into their products.

The goal of this new development is similar to Google’s Project Starline. However, Nokia’s immersive calling technology has fewer requirements than Google’s.

The CEO effectively demonstrated the future of voice calling. Reportedly, he was also present during the demonstration of the 2G calling.

Both the underlying technology in calling and the end result have stayed largely the same for quite some time. Calling used heavy compression to reduce the file size, which was necessary for the transmission when the technology was first developed. Although high-quality audio with multiple channels can be transmitted with the current infrastructure, we still use the monophonic system. That’s why Nokia’s 3D audio-based immersive calling is a notable addition to the calling technology.

Nokia’s latest contribution will not only let you hear the speaker on the other end. but also let you visualize the environment on the other end. “It is the biggest leap forward in the live voice calling experience since the introduction of monophonic telephony audio used in smartphones and PCs today,” said Jenni Lukander, Nokia’s president.

One of the advantages of this new calling method is that it does not require special audio devices to experience the 3D effect. Creating the immersive effect reportedly only requires a stereo microphone setup, which nearly all recent smartphones already have.

If you’re still thinking about the transmission, the call was demonstrated with a regular 5G enabled smartphone. In the image above you will see CEO Pekka Lundmark holding a Pixel device. Reportedly, besides a person-to-person call, the new immersive experience can also be implemented for conference calls.

Nokia expects to license the new technology and make it available to the public within a few years.

(Source)

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