Brandenburg Labs GmbH

Developing immersive audio products for the perfect auditory illusion.

Brandenburg Labs GmbH was founded in 2019 and develops immersive audio products that allow users to create their own personalized auditory reality. The goal is to achieve a perfect auditory illusion so that the listener cannot distinguish whether the audio being played is from a real or virtual audio source.

Founder and CEO of the company is Prof. Dr.-Ing. Karlheinz Brandenburg, co-developer of one of the most innovative digital audio technologies of today, in particular the mp3 and MPEG audio standards. He is known for his pioneering work in digital audio coding and immersive audio; during his career, he has been granted about 100 patents. As a full professor, he headed the Electronic Media Technology Department at Ilmenau University of Technology from 2000 to 2020. In 2004, he became the founding director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT in Ilmenau. The foundation of Brandenburg Labs GmbH is based on his extensive knowledge and network in the field of basic and applied research in the audio sector: in the use of headphones, the creation of an immersive audio experience has presented science and industry with enormous challenges for decades - this is what the company wants to address and place its solutions and products on the market. Brandenburg Labs GmbH is a spin-off of the TU Ilmenau and the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology and employs 15 people.

The company focuses on the development of immersive audio products that enable virtual sound sources to be heard as if they were physically present in the listener's environment. The products are intended to redefine human hearing: The technology used enables headphones to recreate real acoustic environments or create new realistic listening environments. Smart wearables are intended to enable users to create their own personalized auditory reality. Such devices can reduce distracting background noise and increase the volume of the sound source the user is currently focusing on. In addition, virtual sound sources are naturally placed in the user's listening environment, allowing them to experience the sensation of real surround sound. In the future, the company will market software libraries, augmented auditory reality (AAR) systems, and intelligent headphones (PARty).

The most important milestone for the young company is its demonstration system. Brandenburg Labs developed the system as the first "proof of concept" for the immersive simulation of virtual sound sources. The system has already been presented at many events in the audio industry and represents a significant advance over the state of the art. Brandenburg Labs has also been successful in acquiring publicly funded projects.

For more information about Brandenburg Labs GmbH, please visit the website, Instagram, LinkedIn or YouTube.

Status: 2022