The question Outline staffers asked themselves before developing the solution for this issue was the following: how could the "dialogue" or interaction between system engineers and loudspeaker systems be improved?
This question led to another: how could this control be made easier, more enjoyable and more powerful than it had ever been in the past?
And also: was it possible to control a line array (completely) with just a tablet, and no other kind of aid?
These ideas were at the basis of Outline's iMode - The Intelligent Digital Loudspeaker Multi-Control Platform -- and the company has now decided to dedicate a Web site to ensuring the technology involved is fully understood.
"On outlineimode.com the story behind the technology is 'told' (in two languages," comments Outline's Michele Noselli. "The style is as narrative as possible, in order to take one step at a time to understand exactly why iMode offers the solution. Even if obvious, the suggestion is to start at the beginning (Overview). There are four large buttons on the home page, which lead visitors to four thematic areas (Overview, Details, Experience, and Solutions). Nothing else. We hope that the site's design, based on this layout, reflects the simplicity at the base of the iMode concept. On the other hand, turning iMode into actual products was not so easy: it required resources, passion and (brilliant) intelligence, all factors that - modesty aside - there has never been a shortage of at Outline."
Engineer Daniele Pagani, the leader of the iMode project at the Brescia manufacturer's R&D department, comments, "iMode is the concrete response to the corporate mission announced before the arrival of the (dreaded) new millennium. The need, flexibility and enjoyment of putting the control of an entire system at engineers' fingertips was discovered in Outline even before the arrival on the market of mobile devices, which provided the perfect missing link between the iMode project and the Information Technology world.
"The most stimulating aspect is that this interaction will continue to evolve, offering Outline - and us designers - the possibility of experimenting and realizing new forms of control and sound reinforcement system management, while users are ensured a platform structured in such a way as to avoid 'ageing'...in a word, it's great know that you're investing in something that one day will be able to be updated with just a click... but I won't go into any further details - I'll leave that to outlineimode.com..."
(Jim Evans)
