Exciting Audio Radar Tech Lets Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Gamers Hear With Their Eyes

Deaf and hard of hearing gamers might have something to rejoice thanks to a new product called Audio Radar. Using RGBW light bars located around a monitor, Audio Radar allows the user so "see" and visualize the directionality of audio events in video games.

Globally, there is an estimated 1.9 billion (that's billion!) people in the gaming sector. Of that, 15 percent are deaf and hard of hearing (DHOH) who honestly aren't able to fully enjoy the full audio experience that modern games have to offer. Now, a company called Audio Radar has introduced its inaugural product called—you guessed it—Audio Radar, which is a plug-and-play system comprised of 16-million color RGBW light bars and a customizable console that intercepts 7.1 encoded audio in games, and translates that into light-based directional cues.


What's great about the Audio Radar is that it literally IS plug-and-play; there's no software required. Just adhere the lights to a screen, plug the "Command Center" console into the HDMI port on your PC or gaming console, and the system does the rest. For greater control, the command hub has tons of custom presets plus the ability to granularly adjust the light bar sensitivity of any sides of the screen. As with any reactive lighting systems like the Audio Radar, we care curious about latency response, i.e. how quickly the lights accurately "display" the sound occurring in-game.

Do note that the Audio Radar isn't marketed as a hearing enhancement tool, but a sound indicator for the DHOH community. This also means that the lighting system can also benefit hearing gamers, too, like when they have to game at night with the volume turned down or off altogether. Audio Radar's lighting setup also works as dedicated ambient/reactive lighting system, similar to something like the Nanoleaf 4D Screen Mirror. 

The Audio Radar is available for pre-order right now at the company's website.