Sound field control can deliver different audio to different zones of a room.

Evidence

Another application of wave field synthesis techniques using a large number of loudspeakers is a method called sound field control (Francombe et al., 2013; Nelson and Elliott, 1992). Sound field control is used for various applications. For example, different signals can be made audible in different zones of a large listening area in such a manner that only one of the signals is heard in one zone. The method may also be used to attenuate noise in a large area, for example, to reduce background noise for all passengers in the cabin of an aeroplane. — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 1908

Categorization

• XREF: This is the acoustic version of ‘personal audio zones’ that consumer tech has long pursued; connects to discussions of directional speakers and sound beams like the Audio Spotlight.
• SEED: Angle: sound field control as the future of personal audio — silent private zones in public spaces without headphones.