UC&C29 Mar 2021 · 3 min read

Nureva is Changing the Way You Thought About Audio Conferencing

With all the precautions around the COVID-19 pandemic still largely in effect, the transition to a hybrid workforce is a shift that will become permanent.

Joshua Felder

With all the precautions around the COVID-19 pandemic still largely in effect, the transition to a hybrid workforce is a shift that will become permanent. Most organizational meetings will retain some combination of people in the office and others in a remote location. Inevitably, having a microphone solution covering the whole office meeting space so that people can be safely distanced, walk around, and still hear and be heard will become extremely important and valuable. Quality audio is instrumental for those working remotely to feel engaged and part of the meeting. Even if video malfunctions or is unreliable, the ability to talk to one another is what powers any meeting. This ongoing scenario inspired the microphone technology of Nureva’s innovative audio-conferencing systems that makes it easy to hear and be heard from anywhere. Traditional microphone systems in most meeting spaces are a variant of legacy technology that has existed for many years, a repackaging of the same solutions in different forms. The most common audio conferencing strategies are the use of tabletop mics and ceiling-mounted beamforming systems. However, both are dependent on the coverage of the microphone system and an attendee’s physical proximity to it. Nureva’s Microphone Mist technology takes neither approach. “The physical microphones work together to create the equivalent of thousands of virtual microphones that simultaneously capture audio from floor to ceiling and corner to corner,” explains VP Products, Rob Abbott.

“When we do live demos, the demonstrator will walk all around the space and even whisper in the corner, and that person’s voice is still clearly picked up”

The High-Res Difference

Imagine a low-resolution picture. The pixel count that comprises that picture is very low. The image is visible, but the details are not precise. However, a high-resolution picture has a very high pixel count, and every detail of the image is vibrantly visible. Not only is the high-resolution picture clearer, even when zooming in on a specific detail, but the integrity of the image also remains intact. The same is true with the microphone pickup produced by Nureva’s Microphone Mist technology. To achieve this level of clarity, rooms must be understood as three-dimensional acoustic spaces. Nureva’s solution is based on how patented microphone array technology assesses an acoustic space in three dimensions with thousands of equitably distributed virtual microphones. The result is a 3D grid that saturates the room and provides precise acoustic information at an optimal resolution. Traditional methods lack this degree of coverage density as they primarily function to amplify sound sources coming from set directions.

Instead of predictively pointing microphones and hoping they pick up audio in a particular part of the room, Nureva’s always-on listening system listens to everything at the same time, and the processor determines what gets picked up or not. It’s a totally different way of thinking about audio conferencing and a more efficient way of meeting the needs of hybrid workplaces.

There are three different models for small, medium, and large spaces to optimize the sound resolution for every room size. The saturation of virtual microphones in an area also results in better adjustment for feedback or echo due to the physical composition of a room. The system is continually monitoring the room and recalibrates to adapt to changes within the space. This level of intelligence also enables Nureva systems to be effective in open spaces that were once used for cubicles but are now socially distanced meeting spaces.

Looking to the future, full-room microphone pickup will become increasingly important to the employee experience and the effectiveness of organizational communication. Forward-thinking companies will continue to use practices and products that will ensure employees can remain connected in hybrid work structures. An effective audio-conferencing strategy supports collaboration and increases engagement at a time when adaptability is more important than ever.