Live Interactive Virtual Experience for in-car immersion

Designed with applications for the car, at home and on the go, the L.I.V.E. and Personal Audio Headrest platforms fuse the energy and action of a live music performance with the advanced level of personalisation consumers demand from digital experiences. The immersive capabilities of both platforms were showcased via HARMAN Drive-Live Concert ExP, a conceptual in-car experience, which premiered at virtual HARMAN ExPLORE event.

A recent study from Nielsen Music and MRC Data found that half of all music fans think live stream performances or virtual concerts are necessary in the absence of live music events. That said, virtual concerts are currently limited to web-based experiences that may offer online video and chat boxes for basic levels of participation, while drive-in concerts impose considerable space constraints between fans and artists.

Whether safety or technology-based, these limitations narrow the connection and engagement of traditional live performances and spoil the otherwise organic interaction between the artists and the fans. With the L.I.V.E. and Personal Audio Headrest platforms, HARMAN broadens the boundaries of what’s possible with the concert experience – be it virtual, drive-in, or even a more traditional in-venue show. These latest HARMAN innovations give music lovers everywhere extraordinary opportunities to elevate and personalise their concert experiences.

Frank Moffa, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Car Audio, said: “With traditional live events being put on pause, the demand for live music experiences is higher than ever. As a result, we’ve entered a new era of music enjoyment, with live concert-streaming and drive-in concerts taking centre stage.

“At HARMAN, we understand that music and experience are deeply intertwined. Our commitment to ensuring the greatest Experiences per Mile is brought to life through our latest audio innovations. Powered by decades of acoustic expertise combined with our leading connected technologies, the vehicle can be transformed into the embodiment of a live concert with features that only HARMAN can deliver – ensuring fans can enjoy that undeniable energy and magic of a live performance no matter where they are.”

Underscoring the importance of dynamic in-car experiences, two new technologies were unveiled at today’s HARMAN’s ExPLORE event:

Live Interactive Virtual Experience (L.I.V.E.) Platform

Delivering the thrills and immersive experiences of a live concert, HARMAN’s Live Interactive Virtual Experience (L.I.V.E.) platform offers remote and socially distant concertgoers the ability to directly interact with the venue, the artist, and the music all from the comfort of their vehicles, homes, or wherever they happen to be – while also allowing artists to reciprocate with interactions of their own.

With this two-way flow fans can use L.I.V.E. to do things like cheer, make song requests, vote for the next song played, or request that a specific instrument be featured in the next solo. In parallel, artists can receive and respond to fan interactions during their set, give shout-outs to fans, and play fan-requested songs to recreate that otherwise lost sense of engagement with the audience.

Leveraging high quality live streaming, a consumer interface, a software control application and world-renowned HARMAN professional lighting and sound capabilities, L.I.V.E. can be deployed into software applications for vehicles, mobile devices and personal computers. Central to L.I.V.E. is an interactive ‘fan space’, a hub which projects the energy, enthusiasm and applause from fans directly to the artist via in-venue screens and lighting elements.

Further, 5G technology enables high quality audio and video streaming along with automatic access to real-time bonus information, such as song lyrics, band member bios, details on the instruments being played onstage, similar music recommendations, and much more. With L.I.V.E., music lovers no longer have to compromise with static, one-way live stream performances.

Personal Audio Headrest Platform

Creating immersive audio experiences in the automotive space requires meticulous attention to quality, safety, ergonomics and practicality. With an innovative, modular headrest-based design, HARMAN’s new Personal Audio Headrest platform is designed to be automotive-friendly from the ground up. Developed in collaboration with leading automotive interior and seating system supplier Grammer, the Personal Audio Headrest platform delivers elevated levels of audio performance with safety, comfort, and seamless in-cabin integration for OEMs.

The Personal Audio Headrest platform powers the most advanced audio features on the market – from 3-D spatial audio experiences, to individual sound zones, to the most detailed levels of acoustic personalisation. The Personal Audio Headrest platform is available now to OEMs for integration into upcoming vehicles.

In the vehicle, headrest audio has two product tiers:

• Personal Audio Headrest offers the ability to adjust the level of surround sound and 2-channel audio in accordance with personal preferences, giving vehicle occupants the opportunity to customise their individual audio experience and delivering the level of premium HARMAN audio consumers have come to expect.
• Personal Audio Headrest Plus adds mechanised wings in the headrest, which deploy for immersive experience while driving and retract on-demand to resemble a traditional automotive headrest. This offers an even more premium audio experience, with higher performance and greater customisation capabilities – including advanced features like sound zones and spatial audio. The movements of the wings occur safely, quietly and comfortably, without blocking critical sightlines or visibility.