A gigantic globe (say 20ft across or more) on an air bearing.

Directional speakers create sound zones around the globe (arranged in a circle). Cursors on the globe indicate the reference for each sound zone around the globe.

The speakers continuously emit human language, in the language, dialect, accent of the place under the cursor. If the place is uninhabited, then appropriate environmental/wildlife sounds would play, and the voices of any nearby humans (sailors, explorers etc.).

The globe spins very slowly, so if you stood at one sound zone you would hear the language/dialect/accent change, and you could move from zone to zone to get faster changes.

At the base of the globe, there would be discreet information screens for each sound zone giving location information so that audio details references could be followed up if desired.

A reception desk could run around say a third of the globe, facing the entrance. A big translucent cursor made out of the UN logo could adorn the front of the globe, and at set intervals it could say a message in the language/dialect/accent of the place under the UN-logo cursor.

A celebration of humanity!

If the UN didn't want it then it could obviously be adapted for use in various multinational corporate HQs, or as a museum exhibit.
-- conskeptical, Jun 15 2007

Holosonic Research Labs http://www.holosonics.com/
(audio spotlight technology) [conskeptical, Jun 15 2007]

Sounds cool but I'm interested in how you stop the different speaker sounds becoming a big jumbled mess.

Directional speaker's arn't that directional! When standing in England -- if it's 20 foot -- I reckon I'm going to be able to hear German, Polish, and maybe even Russian being spoke.

ALSO England and SouthAfrica are on the same vertical axis. Do you intend to say 'Britain is more important that S.Africa so play the British accent'. No way! Nor for the UN - wouldn't work!

So what now? Vertical and Horizontal different speakers? This is getting messy!

I honestly don't know whether to bun because the idea is cool, or fishbone because I practically can't see how you'd get the thing up and running smoothly.
-- britboy, Jun 15 2007


Additional -- sorry I see the 'cursor' stops some of the 'sound bleed'. But who decides where the cursor goes? You're gonna drive the .. er .. Algerian ambassador crazy if it misses his country because it's too busy doing Spain!!
-- britboy, Jun 15 2007


I think just a rather large globe that UN reps and world leaders could play with to act out their frustrations by simulating their invasions and wars and things just to be able to think through the endgame might be a good thing. Give them all a nice ball to play with or something, while the real world gets back to the work of being neighbors.
-- RayfordSteele, Jun 15 2007


[britboy] - see the Holosonic link for how to stop sound bleeding.

As for making sure everyone is fairly represented: the globe wouldn't spin on it's normal axis of rotation: being on air bearings it could spin any which way, so cursors could take arbitrary paths touring all over the world. This might disorientate people (the globe on it's side, what!?), but it would help us view the world more generally: Australia isn't 'really' at the bottom of the world, and the UK isn't 'really' at the centre of it! :)
-- conskeptical, Jun 15 2007


[RayfordSteele] - that would be nice. If only it could work :)
-- conskeptical, Jun 15 2007


UN? It's a small world, after all.
-- lurch, Jun 16 2007



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