The ConfuSound 3-D Audio System
The ConfuSound system is a set of add-on cards for the PC that allows realtime 3-D sound
processing. ConfuSound positions virtual sound events at points immediately adjacent to
their apparent point of origin. Its specially-designed randomizing circuitry continually
modulates this adjacency angle to prevent conscious compensation on the part of the user (see flowchart below).
ConfuSound's Head-Related Torture Functions can be thought of as context-sensitive equalization,
optimizing audio frequencies for maximum irritation. This circuitry can be software-controlled
in real time, allowing smoothly-modulating changes in what we call the "Aural Challenge Level".
When coupled to events in the virtual world, these changes can have significant psychological
impact.
Above: Diligent laboratory assistants worked hard with the tools of the trade, often
under the most adverse conditions, to bring FAIT 's special brand of 3-dimensional virtual
audio to the pinnacle of perfection. The eventual result of this research was the ConfuSound system.