press release

Holosonics' Audio Spotlight® speakers are featured in the Airbnb / A Wild Thing exhibit at the annual Design Miami international design show. The unique sound beam technology informs visitors throughout the exhibit space by producing highly-focused beams of audio to provide special narratives and give voice to the hidden lives of objects.

Visitors to the Airbnb / A Wild Thing exhibit at the annual Design Miami international design show are immersed in a whispering narrative, courtesy of several Audio Spotlight AS-16i directional speakers, each providing highly focused projected beams of sound to describe various key elements. The exhibit, by furniture designing duo Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen, illustrates the way objects and people interconnect using a display of items that adorn the designer couple's own living room. The presentation replicates the couple's home in Belgium, with personal possessions that include a painting by Van Severen's grandfather, a sculpture made by Muller's father, the drawings of their children, and furniture that the couple designed.

The exhibit's multiple Audio Spotlight systems produce narrow beams of sound, similar to beams of light from a flashlight, that guide visitors with discreet narratives that give voice to the hidden lives of objects, what they mean, and how they come together to create the essence of "home". Muller and Van Severen's virtual home at Design Miami conveys their connection with their family and friends, while also recreating the intimacy and welcoming effect of actually being their houseguest. For any patrons looking to fully immerse themselves in the designer couple's home, the Design Miami exhibit was available to paying guests to stay in. 

The exhibit's narratives are broadcast by the Audio Spotlight speakers, providing patrons with a connection to the designers without the encumbrance or unsafe tether of headphones. Featuring a thin design with built-in amplifier and VESA mounting inserts, the AS-16i Audio Spotlight was a perfect fit for integration at the Design Miami show. Click here to view Airbnb's video overview of A Wild Thing.

The natural directivity of the Audio Spotlight technology also ensured that all sounds were contained to the display area, and none of the surrounding area was disturbed.

For use in gallery settings - or any other similar use - the Audio Spotlight directional speaker is effectively a singular full-featured device requiring no external equipment or wiring, ensuring that any exhibit has its own isolated audio, while the surrounding area is kept peacefully quiet.