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Audio Spotlight Focused Sound Technology Delivers Messages of Peace at the United Nations

Category: Industry Advertorial
An array of video display panels with speakers above them and an illustration of colored sound waves beaming from each one

This post is an advertorial written by a company that serves the museum field. The views, opinions, and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of AAM or its employees.


The United Nations Technology Museum at UN Headquarters in New York City utilizes a tight row of Audio Spotlight directional speakers to provide immersive, focused sound fields at key positions along the audio-visual timeline display in the new permanent exhibit Delivering a Message of Peace. The installation, located in the Public Lobby of the General Assembly building, offers an in-depth view of how technology has been used within the organization to enable peace talks, from the original pens that signed the UN Charter to the advanced, modern technologies of today.

The goal of the exhibit is “to be as immersive as possible,” explains Mr. Phillip Mango of the Office of Information and Communication Technology (OICT). Fittingly, Audio Spotlight speakers were chosen for their uniquely captivating and highly focused sound qualities as part of a display that showcases technological milestones throughout the decades.

An impressive collection of video display presentations are incorporated along the ~25 ft exhibit wall—one for every decade since the 1940s. The corresponding audio from each screen is delivered by a dedicated AS-168iX speaker mounted overhead, creating an equal number of isolated listening zones, despite the extremely close proximity of every display and narrow sound beam.

An array of video display screens with decades on panels above them and individual speakers

Visitors engaged with the exhibit stand close enough to shake hands with those on either side, yet each listener is having their own unique and independent audio experience, without being disturbed by the others in line. Additionally, since the sound fields created by Audio Spotlight technology are so precise, the other exhibit areas throughout the museum and lobby also remain peacefully quiet.

The UN Technology Museum joins a long list of museums, galleries, and other public venues implementing the Audio Spotlight for not only its highly focused sound field capabilities, but also its inherently touchless nature. Increasingly after the COVID-19 pandemic, venues are updating antiquated tactile methods like headphones and handsets to Audio Spotlight’s touch-free technology for an added layer of safety while bringing immersive and intimate personal listening experiences to guests of their facilities.

The Delivering the Message of Peace exhibit opened in January 2020, so no doubt the decision to add Audio Spotlight speakers is seen as good decision for both sound and sanitary reasons.

A group of people touring the exhibition

About Audio Spotlight by Holosonics

Audio Spotlight is a revolutionary audio technology that creates sound in a narrow beam, just like light. Aim the flat, thin speaker panel to your desired listening area, and provide all of the sound and none of the noise.™ From museums, galleries, exhibits, and a wide range of other venues and applications, thousands of companies throughout the world have chosen this patented technology to provide high-quality, precisely controlled sound, while preserving the quiet.™

Contact us to learn more about how our directional sound technology can benefit your projects and we’ll work with you to design an Audio Spotlight solution that will meet all your needs.

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