Qualcomm Institute Audio Expert Joins Comhear, Inc.
October 11, 2016 / By Tiffany Fox
San Diego, Calif., Oct. 11, 2016 — Peter Otto, founding director of the Qualcomm Institute Sonic Arts Laboratory at the University of California San Diego, has joined the award-winning audio technology company Comhear, Inc. as Chief Science Officer. Otto will help lead research and development of a new generation of 3D audio for virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed-reality audio platforms.
Otto, who also holds an appointment at UC San Diego as Technology Director in the Department of Music, is an expert in the language and aesthetics of music and media as well as advanced design and engineering, including instrumentation and facilities design, systems and networking applications. He established the Sonic Arts R&D group at (QI) in 2009.
“I have loved the daily excitement of working in the inspiring multidisciplinary environment of QI for more than eight years now,” Otto said. “But it’s fun and challenging to focus on taking the next step with Sonic Arts research -- that is, working very closely with the company that is taking our UC San Diego audio technology into mass markets. I foresee Comhear maintaining an essential collaboration with QI and Sonic Arts going forward, and am proud that as the first company to occupy a residency in the QIIS, Comhear is flourishing by combining cool Sonic Arts technology with its own expertise in engineering, marketing, and technology innovation.
“Comhear is now shipping the products of UCSD imagination and know-how,” Otto continued. “I clearly anticipate new, mutually beneficial projects and opportunities flowing between QI and great industry partners like Comhear for years to come.”
“We’ve had a long standing relationship with Peter and Sonic Arts” said Perry Teevens, CEO, Comhear Inc., “Peter is an expert in the field of multi-channel and spatial audio, including binaural and multi-channel sound design and 3D audio imaging. Peter will lead our R&D efforts as we take our beamforming technology into commercial markets”
In addition to his work in the Sonic Arts laboratory, Otto has also founded two software companies and consulted for top-tier firms in the private sector. His performance design work has been heard in major American, European and Asian venues such as Carnegie Hall, Juilliard, Los Angeles Philharmonic, SIGGRAPH, The Theatre Olympics (Japan), The Holland Festival, The Maeght Foundation (France), Santa Cecilia (Italy), Barbican and Royal Albert Halls (London) and Ars Electronica (Austria).
As Chief Science Officer for Comhear, Peter will continue to author patents, oversee Comhear’s IP portfolio, follow technology and market trends, advise on product development, collaborate with engineering to design state-of-the-art facilities and develop technologies, and advance studies of media perception and audio quality.
About Comhear, Inc.
Comhear believes in sound that moves you. Comhear is an audio technology company that brings people closer together through pristine communication, and enhances immersive entertainment with the physical sensation of sound you can practically touch. Consumer electronics speaker and headset OEMs, enterprise TEMs, kiosk systems manufacturers and integrators and Gaming/VR platforms benefit from Comhear’s revolutionary beamforming services, which add vocal clarity and customization to audio and conferencing systems.
Comhear products are powered by our patented KAP™ software, which gives you wider, more natural soundscapes while protecting long term hearing acuity. This passion for healthy audio, combined with a deep understanding of how the brain processes sound, enables Comhear to develop products and solutions that adapt to your environment and transform the listening experience.
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Tiffany Fox
(858) 246-0353
tfox@ucsd.edu