“Impossible” is not a word that deters Brandenburg Labs Founder/CEO Dr. Karlheinz Brandenburg.

He heard that term in the past, applied to an innovation he and his team were creating: the audio MP3 format.

After “doing the impossible” and making audio history, Dr. Brandenburg is looking towards the future as he and his team exhibit at CES® 2024, in Las Vegas.

In their suite at the Venetian, Brandenburg Labs will be showcasing the world’s first truly immersive audio experience: the Brandenburg Labs Audio Augmented Reality Headphone System.

Dr. Brandenburg explained that this system creates a “digital auditory illusion” where listeners can’t distinguish between a real sound source and a virtual one!

Perhaps the most exciting part of this innovation, however, is that it’s a beginning.

Dr. Brandenburg and his staff are currently working towards the concept of “Personal Auditory Reality”, or PARTY. This is a smart wearable that allows users to moderate sounds around them: minimizing noise and focusing on audio in which they’re interested by boosting its amplitude!

Dr. Brandenburg explained how CES® visitors will experience the Brandenburg Labs Audio Augmented Reality Headphone System, offered a preview of how PARTY will work, and shared some of his favorite insights from creating “impossible” innovations in the audio area.

On this edition of Over Coffee®, we cover:

• What first inspired Dr. Brandenburg to become an engineer and inventor;

• His favorite recollections, from working on the MP3 audio file format;

• A closer look at how guests will experience the Brandenburg Labs Audio Augmented Reality Headphone System at CES® (guests can sign up for demos at Brandenburg Labs Suite at the Venetian Hotel, 29^th Floor, Suite 29-331);

• Some of the applications for which the new system can be used in the immediate future;

• The ultimate vision for PARTY, for which this technology is a building block;

• The factor that keeps Dr. Brandenburg working on innovations that others claim are “impossible”;

• One of the biggest current obstacles around which he and his team are working;

• How the average person might use this new audio technology, five years in the future.