The social media giant Facebook and Oculus parent company announced that they have purchased immersive audio company Two Big Ears, and they will use its platform to promote high-quality VR audio.
According to Tech Crunch, Facebook is continuing its strategy of devoting resources to develop virtual reality (VR) experiences. The latest acquisition aims at fine-tuning how 3D audio impacts VR viewer perceptions.
Two Big Ears is a company based in Ediburgh that launched in 2013 and specialized in 3D audio in gaming and cinematic experiences. VentureBeat reports that the acquisition of Two Big Ears means that Facebook will rerelease Two Big Ears' "Spatial Workstation" software as part of its new Facebook 360 Spatial Workstation.
The software is expected to help VR audio spread across all platforms and devices. Two Big Ears developers will keep working on their software alongside employees from Oculus.
Terms of the new deal between the two companies were not disclosed, but Two Big Ears explained its vision in a blog post detailing the acquisition. According to it, the company has been focused on creating tools and technology defining how immersive audio is experienced in augmented reality and virtual reality.
The Two Big Ears' technology mainly focuses on how sound interacts with surfaces that surround the listener/viewer and how it plays in 3D spaces. At the same time, for Facebook video and Oculus platform further progress in building hyper-realistic 3D audio is a major interest.
Both the Oculus Rift and Gear VR support the immersive audio technology. The fact that Two Big Ears' 3D audio technology is made available for free to developers is a move that will stimulate creation of new products.
For developers who were wondering if the new Facebook 360 Spatial Workstation software will work only on Oculus Rift and Gear VR, Two Big Ears announced that its software will continue to be a portable platform.
Facebook has made it easier for developers to enhance their user experience on VR apps, with the Two Big Ears purchase. This move has strengthened the company's efforts in making its social media site an immersive VR video content default hub.
