Origins
Sofilab was founded in 2015 as a digital programming studio, initially created to support the collaborative projects of Mathis Nitschke, an accomplished artist, music composer, and theatre maker. The desire to formalize these collaborations led to the establishment of Sofilab, providing a platform and identity for the team’s work. In 2017, the company took a significant step forward with the production of “MAYA,” the world’s first mixed reality techno-opera. This ambitious project marked the official incorporation of Sofilab as Sofilab UG, solidifying its role in the production of innovative and risk-taking ventures.
What we do today
Today, Sofilab is a research and development lab for sound and interaction. We design and validate functional, semantic sounds for human–machine interaction — sounds that communicate meaning rather than just attract attention. Our work bridges artistic precision and engineering discipline, combining design thinking, psychoacoustics, and musical intuition into reproducible, scalable processes.
Focus areas
Since 2020, Sofilab has focused on industrial applications of sound. We work at the intersection of UX sound design, psychoacoustic research, and AI-based tools. Our projects span automotive, medical technology, and robotics — everywhere sound must communicate clearly and intuitively in complex environments. We also develop our own tools and platforms, such as: ISS (Immersive Sound Stage) for prototyping and validation, and CORPUS Reef, our real-time generative sound model built for embedded, context-aware audio systems.
Research culture
Our practice is rooted in artistic research. We explore how people listen, how movement influences perception, and how sound can guide attention and emotion without visual cues. This research shapes our applied work — ensuring every industrial project is grounded in creative insight, not just technical compliance.
Infrastructure & privacy
We operate our own infrastructure for collaboration and data exchange (Nextcloud, Collabora, Rocket.Chat, GitLab, Jitsi). All systems are hosted in Germany and comply with GDPR standards — ensuring confidentiality and reliability for partner projects.
Team
Sofilab works as a distributed lab network of artists, engineers, and designers:
Mathis Nitschke Founder and Artistic Director of Sofilab, is a composer and sound designer with extensive experience in film, games, theatre and interactive media. Known for his innovative approach to opera and music theatre, he has created original works and collaborated with artists such as Jonas Kaufmann, Claus Guth and Simon Rattle. Mathis has worked with companies including Linde, Audi, Harman and Brainlab, leading projects that redefine the role of sound in design and technology. www.mathis-nitschke.com
Jörg Hüttner is a composer and synth programmer based in Los Angeles and co-created the music for ANON. Besides his work for Hollywood film composers such as Hans Zimmer, Atli Örvarsson, Danny Elfman, Martin Tillmann and others, he also continues to work for “regular” music productions with producers and professionals. www.joerghuettner.com
Lars Ullrich is a digital artist and technologist exploring the intersection of sound, image and spatial experience. At Sofilab he developed Flow, an immersive audio-visual installation translating music into generative 3D landscapes. He is now the CTO of CORPUS. https://larsullrich.de/
Max Graf is an AI & Music researcher and sound designer working at the intersection of machine learning, XR and interactive composition. He holds a Ph.D. from Queen Mary University of London and contributes to Sofilab’s CORPUS initiative for music-AI development. https://maxgraf.space/about/
Virginie Berger is a strategist and advisor specialising in music, technology and rights management. With more than twenty years in publishing and digital licensing, she supports Sofilab in developing business models for creative and ethical audio technologies. https://www.forbes.com/sites/virginieberger/
Michael Hartung is a sound designer and creative technologist from Munich, specialising in interactive audio and tool development for games and digital media. At Sofilab he programmed the Planets app and contributed to various game projects. https://hartung.studio/
Klasien van de Zandschuld is an interaction designer and digital story-teller based in Amsterdam and co-created the app for MAYA. Her work focuses on designing the way people interact with and use their digital environment often blending mixed reality and digital storytelling. Check out her website at www.klasien.com
Luciano Pinna is a conceptual artist and augmented reality designer and co-created the app for MAYA. Graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld academy of art and the applied physics faculty of the University of Twente he walks on parallel paths. Combining his fascination for tech and art he develops new experiences with Augmented Reality. Check out his website at www.augment.nl