A new Facebook experiment shows how sound could play a major role in augmented reality. Chief scientist Michael Abrash and his team at FRL Research (formerly Facebook Reality Labs) released details today about what the team calls “perceptual superpowers” — AR systems that figure out what you’re trying to hear, then amplify it and dampen background noise. Combined with spatial audio features, the device creates the aural equivalent of a hologram overlay in a pair of glasses.

Facebook has pursued high-quality virtual sound for years, largely through its Oculus virtual reality headsets. FRL Research’s latest work focuses on AR applications. To give one example, “imagine being able to hold a conversation in a crowded restaurant or bar...

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