Nemisindo

Generating unique sound effects in real time

Queen Mary Innovation » Spinouts » Nemisindo

Prof. Joshua Reiss

Professor of Audio Engineering, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science

Nemisindo (Zulu for “sound effects”) offers sound design services based on innovative procedural audio technology. They aim to completely remove the reliance on sample libraries for sound effects by offering intuitive tools to generate any sound.

The technology is more creative than simply using pre-recorded sounds that are never quite what’s wanted. Nemisindo can generate sounds that have never been recorded. They can be shaped and crafted at the point of creation, breaking through the limitations of sampled sounds.

Nemisindo offer many synthesis models, with selected post-processing tools created for you to create your own sounds from scratch. Each can generate sound in real-time from the ground up, which can be shaped by manipulating various parameters.

Nemisindo is dedicated to delivering great sound effects and tools to all, from the professional sound designer crafting the richest, immersive scenes, to the amateur content creator wanting cool, fun sounds to match their creative content. They are an Epic Megagrant recipient, developing procedural audio for the Unreal game engine.

Why did you start your spinout?

I am passionate about impact from research. For me, its not enough to just write a paper and hope that it gets read and cited. I’m inspired by seeing research make it all the way from proof-of-concept to product, or in some other sense making a difference. Entrepreneurship is a great way to achieve that aim.

What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurial academics?

Firstly, the goals of entrepreneurship and academic research are not contradictory. One can publish papers, create open source code and share knowledge while still protecting IP. In fact, academic impact can promote the commercial offerings. Secondly, QMUL offers tremendous support to start-ups and the teams behind them. They’ve supported me on the journey at all stages. So, if you’re interested in commercialising research, its really worth contacting Queen Mary Innovation. Finally, it can be a really rewarding experience. Entrepreneurship is challenging and risky, but absolutely wonderful when it succeeds.