Videoworks and Coton, when a yacht soundscape adapts to its surroundings

On a yacht, sound is usually a system you switch on and adjust. Videoworks and Coton, a Japanese sound design company founded in 2019 out of Tokyo University of the Arts, treat it instead as a design element that changes with its surroundings. From Ancona, the two companies have announced a new collaboration dedicated to integrating sound into yacht design: it is called the Immersive Audio Experience, and it takes audio beyond listening, turning it into part of the environment and its atmosphere.

At its core is Soundtope, Coton's proprietary technology, which combines human-made sound bases with algorithms able to adapt them in real time to a constantly changing environment.

The project brings together Videoworks' expertise in integrating audio and video technology on board superyachts with Coton's approach to sound as part of architecture and design. Soundtope turns inputs from the environment into dynamic sound content, continuously adapting the acoustic landscape: the same sound base can generate different variations depending on context, giving each space and project its own specific acoustic dimension.

Sound as part of the design
With the Immersive Audio Experience, audio becomes a design component that engages with the yacht's architecture and interiors. The aim is not necessarily to draw the guest's attention, but to contribute discreetly to the perception of the space: it follows the character of the environment and adapts to its changes over time.

Design work starts from the client's needs and the designers' creative direction. From keywords, sensations or characteristics linked to a given environment, Coton develops customised content that the system processes into dynamic variations. Each area of the yacht can develop its own interpretation of the same sound concept while keeping overall coherence between spaces, the same approach used in interior design to create continuity through materials, shapes and colour palettes.

Technology and integration on board
The technology works autonomously and dynamically. A dedicated system runs the generative engine developed by Coton, which processes information about the environment and the yacht's position: usable inputs include weather conditions and local time, while other data from onboard systems can adjust the soundscape's parameters in real time.

This is where Videoworks comes in, bringing the technology into the yacht's design and connecting the audio system with architecture, interior design and the other technologies on board. The solution can also be completed with displays, video, lighting and sensors, in an ecosystem where different technologies work together to define and shape the perception of the space.

"Sound can become an extension of interior design, an element capable of evolving with the environment and offering a different experience every time," says Maurizio Minossi, Co-founder and CEO of Videoworks. "Our task is to integrate this technology into the yacht's design, working closely with designers and clients and paying particular attention to privacy and the specific needs of life on board."

Design, quality and discretion
The Immersive Audio Experience offers several ways to integrate sound diffusion systems. Videoworks can use solutions where the speakers have a stronger visual presence, becoming part of the interior's aesthetic expression, or more discreet, integrated systems designed to minimise the hardware's presence in the space. Integration with three-dimensional audio systems adds further options on both the design and perceptual level.

Particular attention goes to privacy, a key aspect for private yachts. To detect certain elements of the environment without using cameras in interior spaces, Videoworks uses LiDAR sensors, which can detect people's presence and movement without collecting biometric information.

"Technology should serve the project, not impose itself on it," says Stefano Fagnani, Sound Designer and Software Developer at Coton. "With Soundtope we work on sound's ability to evolve and adapt, creating an experience that is not simply played back but generated in relation to context. This lets us develop highly customisable solutions that stay coherent with the project's creative vision."

A new dimension of the on-board experience
The collaboration between Videoworks and Coton opens a new perspective on the use of sound in yachting: no longer just a technology for listening, but a component of the environment able to engage with the architecture, the design and the conditions that surround it.

Designed in particular for superyacht interiors, where the layout of spaces and the placement of speakers make the most of immersive audio, the Immersive Audio Experience brings a dynamic, customisable element on board, designed to blend naturally into the overall yacht experience.

Videoworks designs and integrates AV/IT, security, automation and entertainment systems for luxury yachting, with offices in Europe and the Americas.

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