Google Street View is an application that enables you to virtually visit almost anywhere and even see famous buildings all over the world, without leaving your house. However you explore, only images have accompanied your search – until now. Hearing aid specialist Amplifon has embarked upon a new project that allows you to not only see these places but to hear them too.
Sounds of Street View is a digital explorative sound experiment that gives users a 3D sound experience in a Street View environment. Utilising the Web Audio API, sounds are designated as though they were ordinary Google Maps markers, but instead of an image and information being assigned to the marker, a sound is instead.
Sounds happening behind you are processed through a low-pass filter, to re-create how the shape of the human ear affects how sound is heard: brighter in front and duller behind. It's an utterly immersive experience that may shape the future of Street View.
What do you make of the sounds? Let us know in the comments box below!
