Key facts

  • Joined the University as a lecturer in 2002
  • Programme Leader for Post Graduate Research in Electronics and Maths dept.
  • Current Modules: Advanced Surround Sound Systems (level 7), Audio Software Engineering (level 7), Digital Signal Processing and Sound Design (level 7), Audio Digital Signal Processing (level 6), Multichannel Sound System Design (level 6), Multichannel Sound and Auditory Perception (level 6), Computing & Communication Technology (level 5), Signal & Circuit Analysis Techniques (level 4)
  • Personal Website: www.brucewiggins.co.uk 
  • Twitter: @BruceWiggins
  • LinkedIn: uk.linkedin.com/in/brucewiggins

A little about me…

I started life in Oakham, Rutland where my main interests were playing music in various orchestras, bands and groups.  Like many who work with audio technology, I considered a career in music (piano and trumpet were my main instruments), but I was better at the technical side of things which brought me to Derby where I gained a first class honours in Music Technology and Audio System Design (an IET accredited degree mixing music production and electrical/electronic engineering).  I soon found my interests were in signal processing and general audio mangling and pursued a PhD looking at the manipulation and control of 3D sound fields .  Ideas from this work still resonate today, especially with the explosion of 3D audio due to virtual reality…but more on that later!  I took up a full-time lecturing role at the University of Derby in 2002 and have been here ever since!

Screenshot from WigWare.
WigWare Ambisonic Decoder Plugin

In around 2006 I decided to turn some of my research into freely available VST plug-ins, mainly so my students could mix audio in a speaker agnostic format (i.e. a format where we don’t need to know what the eventual output speaker array, or headphones, will look like).  These are still used today and are available from my website.  Although I made them for my students, they’ve been used in many projects around the world, such as Codemasters DiRT and Formula 1 games and at music festivals by Funktion One .  My work and software were featured as an impact case study (looking at the use of research beyond academia) in the Research Excellence Framework 2014 (REF).

Example Mapping of an Equirectangular Image to a Sphere
Example Mapping of an Equirectangular Image to a Sphere

My research interests mainly lie in the areas of 3D sound over headphones and multiple loudspeakers,  with my work now being utilised more than ever due to the interest in 3D audio due to virtual and mixed/augmented reality where 360-degree video/pictures are combined with head tracked, 3D audio.  You’ll find plenty of information about what I’m currently looking into on my website!

My duties at the University are many and varied.  I have a number of PhD students looking at 3D audio reproduction and capture, I represent the college in various Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) roles and have been involved in a number of TEL projects such as lecture capture and screencasts/interactive e-learning creation.  I teach across 6 different degrees, in 2 different colleges and am often invited to give talks about my research at conferences and universities.

Below is YouTube VR example of a collaboration between two animation and two music staff members at the University of Derby which has been spatialised by my software for a triple projection, 24 speaker surround sound system at our annual Sounds in Space Research Symposium.  This VR version is best watched in Google Cardboard or similar while wearing headphones.

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