Last November, we attended the Audio Developer Conference at Goldsmiths University in London. The event is run by the company behind the JUCE library. At Springbeats, we use JUCE to build audio apps for clients and for ourselves. The conference lasted two days. It covered many topics in audio programming. And yes, central London is a cold place to stay in November š
Clear trends
If you check the program, you will notice the main trends of the year:
- Machine Learning
- Embedded systems
- New technologies, practices, and standards
Machine learning is everywhere. Even in audio. Some demos looked very convincing. I expect many companies to add these technologies to their products soon.
Embedded and mobile systems are also maturing. Latency and power limits are less of an issue now. That opens more possibilities for mobile audio.
Controllers keep getting better too. Roger Linn mentioned this in his talk. The ROLI products are a clear example of more expressive control.
Overall impression
The organization was excellent. Attendance doubled compared to last year. Big industry names came, but also many small developers like us.
Most talks lacked technical depth for my taste. Time limits may have been the reason. I also heard from other small developers that there was little content for plugin developers.
Still, Iām curious to see how the event evolves. I definitely want to go back next year š
You can now watch part of the talks on YouTube.