The AES Virtual Vienna Convention 2020 – A Litmus Test in Quick-Thinking and Ingenuity
The Audio Engineering Society (AES) Spring International Convention for Vienna this year was a virtual convention due to the COVID-19 pandemic, dubbed the Virtual Vienna 2020. Its online schedule finished last week, and unfortunately the videos and on-demand content for the conference are no longer available. The content was available until June 30th. Since then, all the papers are available, as always, in the AES E-Library.
This truly was a unique and innovative convention, and it showed very quick thinking by the AES organization and those running the event. Other conferences and conventions have followed the AES example, and have converted their events to virtual experiences as best they can. The ALTI-Expo for 2020 is a one-day online only event with presenters from companies such as Harman and Warkwyn, the previously cancelled SAE WCX is now a three-day digital summit, the CEDIA Expo has been cancelled and is now teasing a “virtual experience coming in September,” and who knows, perhaps even the 149th AES in New York will have to become, even partially, a virtual experience.
At a time when we all have spent months looking at numbers in the denominator and looking at curves to see if the number of cases and sad departures have slowed, flattened, or declined, we have spent our days on conference calls, connecting at a distance, virtually. We look out in the evenings and see lights in the windows of our neighbors and know we’re not alone. We have met some of our neighbors for the first time ever, socially distanced of course, while taking an afternoon walk. We can find comfort in the structure of a schedule but find equal delight in breaking the tyranny of that same schedule. Yet, we find ourselves afraid. To paraphrase the words of an old song:
In the multitude of my thoughts within me, the comfort of having met delights my soul.
We can share the fear and take comfort from each other and the connections that we continue to hold and new ones we make.
The AES Technical Committee for Automotive Audio Meeting
Though we did not have a big, creative presentation during the Virtual Vienna schedule (like Tom Ammermann literally immersing himself in his Immersive Audio for Industry Applications presentation for example), we did meet virtually with the Technical Committee for Automotive Audio (TC-AA) of the AES, of which we share the co-chair. In this meeting, the committee began discussions on the Automotive Audio Conference in Detroit, set for June 23rd-25th, 2021. We, along with the TC-AA, have been tasked with organizing this event. Some members even brought up ways to integrate a virtual aspect to the Conference given the success and ingenuity of the AES Virtual Vienna.
On an adjacent topic, the TC-AA also discussed the upcoming the 149th AES in New York later this year in October. The call for contributions to this convention are still open! If you are interested in contributing a paper for this conference the deadline to submit proposals is June 15th, 2020, but that date might be adjusted by the Convention Committee, per the AES. Authors interested may submit proposals in three different categories: complete-manuscript peer-reviewed convention papers, abstract-precis-reviewed convention papers, and abstract-reviewed engineering briefs (paper optional).
Check out our live tweets from the Technical Committee for Automotive Audio Meeting here.
As always, the TC-AA meetings are open to the public, and we encourage all who are interested to attend. There are many advantages to becoming a member of the AES as well, so we highly encourage becoming a member. If you would like to be added to the mailing list so you are informed of future meetings, whether they be virtual, or in person, please reach out to us in the way you are most comfortable. We are most welcoming to all interested, and if you know a student who may be interested, reach out on their behalf! Our contact information can be found in full on our Newsroom page, and we are always available to discuss anything you would like via our social media pages. The next AES Technical Committee for Automotive Audio meeting is tentatively scheduled for August 17th, 2020.
We wish everyone safety and peace. These times are still testing all the models that we live by: breaking the weak ones, emboldening the strong ones, and insisting on new ones. We have hope that in the world that emerges we can touch a shoulder or embrace and see the true light in each other’s eyes rather than the reflection of a desk lamp seen through a camera, or a fun, if cheesy, Zoom backdrop of the Taj Mahal.
Please enjoy the links here of some of our favorite presentations at this convention, and may they continue to bring us together.
See one of the highlights of the convention: "Creative Recording Techniques" by Lenise Bent
Watch Tom Ammermann literally immerse himself in his Immersive Audio for Industry Applications presentation as he literally walks through his presentation "3D/ spatial audio for full domes, theatre and events"
In the Automotive Audio section find:
We hope to see each other again very soon, whether it be in New York in October 2020, or Amsterdam in the Spring 2021, or at the Automotive Audio Conference that will take place June 23rd-25th, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan. Until we see each other again, stay safe, stay healthy, and enjoy the Virtual Vienna content while it is still available!
