Yalinguth

Since 2018 I have been working with the Yalinguth working group on the development of a large scale, place based, AR application and underlying platform for place based storytelling. The application houses and shares personal stories of the history, and experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. These stories are told through spatialised sound, and are experienced in the real world locations at which they occurred. Yalinguth runs on mobile devices and launched in 2021.

My responsibility on the project has been as a technical and creative collaborator, handling all software development for the sound-in-place platform and Yalinguth application. Throughout the development of this platform I have been heavily involved in experimenting with new techniques, and determining best practices for, building experiences within the new medium of place based spatialised sound.

The app aims to foster a deeper connection to the stories it contains than a more traditional archive or screen based experience could provide. By situating the stories in the places where they occurred, and allowing you to access them naturally by moving through the space, the connection to the stories and storytellers becomes more human and more relatable. The application allows you to experience both the sound and the place fully, eyes-up off the screen and onto your surroundings.

The application offers an accurate three-dimensional sound field that reflects your position in real time, It isn’t a pre-recorded podcast or ‘audio tour’, rather it responds to your movement and can be accessed from any direction. No QR codes required.

Of course the sound-in-place technology only matters because of the stories it shares, and the project has come about through a huge process involving many instrumental contributors. I encourage you to visit the Yalinguth website for more details, and to follow the links to download the app from the App Store or Google Play.