GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The audio technology found in the Las Vegas Sphere is coming to West Michigan, though on a much smaller scale.

The $2.3 billion Sphere opened last year, with a massive screen on the outside. You may have seen it used during the Super Bowl broadcast. Inside — along with a large interior LED display — is a 170,000-speaker audio system from Holoplot.

The system allows for sound to be controlled in the same way as light.

“Light is everywhere. We can direct it, we can control it, we can create beams of it, we can optimize it in spaces,” James Bobel, the North American sales manager for Holoplot, explained. “Much of what we hear all the time is very uncontrolled sound.”

Holoplot developed technology to control sound such that one section of a venue could be listening to a completely different track than another section.

“Being in control (of) sound means we can do anything,” Bobel said. “Since we’re in control of where sound can go, we’re also in control of where it doesn’t go.”

Now, Special Olympics Michigan is working with Holoplot and local company CS Erickson to bring that technology into its Unified Sports and Inclusion Center in Byron Township — it’s the world’s largest Special Olympics facility.

The team discussed the project and other ways tech is helping spaces become more inclusive during a Tech Week event hosted by Special Olympics Michigan Tuesday.

“We’re actually partnering with the same audio provider that worked with the Sphere in Las Vegas to bring immersive audio to this community and to help really design and implement technology that is going to change the way this community hears and participates in events,” Wes Richards, the director of AV Technology at CS Erickson, said.

Jen VanSkiver, the chief officer of strategic growth for Special Olympics Michigan, described the Holoplot technology inside the Sphere as “a true calculus in engineering, literal marvel, a wonder of the world.”

“What’s really exciting for us is that they, through CS Erickson, are partnering with Special Olympics Michigan to bring that patented technology to our auditorium in a future phase of construction,” she said.

The technology will customize the experience of events by zone, which can help those with sensory needs, hearing loss, low vision or who use wheelchairs, VanSkiver said.

“All of those people … never enter a public space easily or without trepidation,” she said. “They worry about where they’re going to sit, if they’re going to be able to see, what they’re going to be able to hear. And sometimes they have to sacrifice one for the other.”

Holoplot means that whose who can’t be in a loud environment can still sit close to the stage.

“Instead of having to create zones that are far away from the stage, we can actually create zones that are quieter up front and close by so they can still be involved in the in the production and not be sequestered off into a corner,” Bobel with Holoplot said.

Another local company, MindSpring, is working on an augmented reality experience inside the Special Olympics Michigan facility. The AR will help people navigate the building and can show planned additions. It will also translate signage into languages like Spanish, show videos and pull up a hologram that talks about the facility.

“It’s truly phenomenal, a game changer for many of our folks who have trouble reading — or English isn’t their first language — understanding directions, multiple steps in a row,” VanSkiver said.

For a demo of MindSpring’s AR experience, watch the video in the player below.

So far, MindSpring has finished a demo for the building’s lobby and is working to create an experience for the entire building.

Amy Kensington, president of Mindspring, said the goal is to have the AR experience in more public spaces.

“Special Olympics Michigan is paving the way,” she said. “We’re hoping that people see this and want this in all kinds of facilities and hospitals and libraries, but also in venues and things where people can’t go to now, because they don’t have this type of accessibility.”

The team also hopes to the Holoplot used in more public spaces to improve inclusivity.

“I do think it’s the future. It’s absolutely the future,” Bobel said, though he noted it’s still a very involved process and it’s expensive.

VanSkiver, from Special Olympics Michigan, said local companies are starting to better understand the intellectually disabled community.

“We are voters, we do work, we pay taxes and we’re also a powerful consumer group as well,” she said. “I think it took companies getting into a building like this and trying to figure out the space … what they’re learning from us is changing entire industry sectors.”

She wants to see a bigger focus on making public spaces inclusive using technology.

“We’ve done really well with (Americans with Disabilities Act) standards, but that really meets the bare minimum,” she said. “The use of technology in spaces and places like this, especially in public spaces, really starts from the ground up, from day one considering and including and taking direction from our audience. … They can freely enter these types of spaces knowing that they are not only welcomed, but that it’s functional for them.”