A full-automatic test system for sound source positioning of panoramic intelligent camera

Abstract

The application relates to the panoramic intelligent camera production technical field, and discloses a full-automatic sound source positioning test system for a panoramic intelligent camera, which comprises a multi-path sound source trigger tool module and a sound source positioning test software control module. The tool module is composed of sound insulation cotton, an electric guide rail, an eight-channel relay and eight loudspeakers. The sound insulation cotton is used for constructing an interference-free and echo-free acoustic environment, the eight loudspeakers are uniformly distributed along the circumferential direction and serve as sound sources, and the electric guide rail is used for conveying the camera to be tested to the center position. The software control module is connected with the eight-channel relay through a serial port, controls the on-off sound emission of the loudspeakers in specific directions, and continuously reads the sound source positioning coordinates fed back by the panoramic intelligent camera to be tested through a network port. The sound emission directions and the positioning coordinates fed back by the camera are automatically matched and judged in intervals through a program, all channels are tested in cycles, and the system has the remarkable beneficial effects of high test efficiency, high accuracy and low labor cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of panoramic intelligent camera manufacturing technology, specifically to a fully automated sound source localization testing system for panoramic intelligent cameras. Background Technology

[0002] Panoramic intelligent cameras, as a new type of video acquisition device, are widely used in various scenarios such as conferencing, monitoring, and immersive live streaming. To provide users with a more immersive experience and access to crucial information, modern panoramic intelligent cameras not only need to capture 360-degree panoramic images but also accurately perceive and locate sound sources in the environment. Therefore, accurately associating and displaying the location information of sound with the panoramic video image has become a key technical indicator for evaluating the performance of panoramic intelligent cameras. This invention aims to provide an efficient and reliable sound source localization function testing system to ensure that mass-produced panoramic intelligent cameras can accurately and stably achieve this crucial function.

[0003] Most existing panoramic stitching cameras are equipped with multi-directional microphone arrays, the technical purpose of which is to ensure comprehensive and complete recording of environmental sound from all 360 degrees. In terms of functionality, through specific algorithms and relational mapping, the recorded 360-degree omnidirectional audio is processed in conjunction with the panoramic video content, enabling the camera to accurately calculate the incident direction and position of the sound. This technology ensures that users can accurately understand the location of the current sound source through visual indicators on the screen, greatly improving the completeness and usability of the video information.

[0004] However, once product functionality is achieved, a significant technical challenge arises when transitioning from the R&D phase to mass production: how to efficiently, efficiently, and accurately verify the accuracy of sound source localization. Traditional testing methods require testers to continuously emit sounds and move around the machine, then visually assess the positioning direction based on the displayed images. This method has fundamental shortcomings: firstly, it is a non-automated, high-intensity test, resulting in extremely low efficiency and long testing times during mass production; secondly, it is physically demanding for testers and heavily reliant on subjective judgment, making errors prone to occur during prolonged, repetitive operations. These drawbacks severely restrict the efficiency and accuracy of quality control in the mass production of panoramic intelligent cameras. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides a fully automated sound source localization testing system for panoramic intelligent cameras, solving the problem of inefficient and error-prone sound source localization testing that relies on manual judgment during mass production of panoramic intelligent cameras.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: a fully automated sound source localization testing system for a panoramic intelligent camera, the system comprising: A multi-channel sound source triggering fixture module is used to construct a sound insulation test environment and provide a location sound source. The module includes a sound insulation component, an electric guide rail, an eight-channel relay, and an eight-channel speaker. The eight speakers are arranged at intervals along the circumference and are electrically connected to each channel of the eight-channel relay. The electric guide rail is used to transport the panoramic smart camera under test to the test center position. The sound source localization test software control module is communicatively connected to the eight-channel relay and the panoramic smart camera under test. This module is used to send commands to control the on / off state of the eight-channel relay to drive the speaker in the corresponding direction to emit sound, and to read the sound source localization coordinates fed back by the panoramic smart camera under test in real time. The sound source localization coordinates are matched with the preset directional interval corresponding to the current speaker to determine whether the sound source localization is accurate.

[0007] Preferably, the sound insulation component is formed by surrounding a circular area with sound insulation cotton, and a layer of sound insulation cotton is laid on top to block external sound source interference and avoid echoes; the radius of the circular area is 1 to 1.5 meters.

[0008] Preferably, the number of the eight-channel speakers is eight, one is set at a 45-degree angle, and they are connected to the channels of the eight-channel relay in a counterclockwise order.

[0009] Preferably, the electric guide rail is set on a radius of the circular area surrounded by the eight speakers; in the test state, the designated lens of the panoramic smart camera under test is aligned with the speaker connected to a specific channel of the eight-channel relay to fix the panoramic coordinates and the relative position of the eight directional speakers.

[0010] Preferably, the sound source localization test software control module is connected to the eight-channel relay via a serial port and to the panoramic intelligent camera under test via a network port.

[0011] Preferably, the testing process of the sound source localization test software control module includes: The serial port command controls the closure of a channel of the eight-channel relay, causing the speaker in the corresponding position to play sound. Obtain the current sound source location of the panoramic smart camera under test via the network port. The obtained sound source location is matched with the preset coordinate range corresponding to the current speaker; if the location falls within the range, the location test is considered passed. Perform the tests for each channel in the manner described above until all channels have been tested.

[0012] This invention provides a fully automated testing system for sound source localization in panoramic intelligent cameras. It offers the following advantages: 1. This invention uses a sound source localization testing software control module to remotely control eight-channel relays to drive eight speakers to emit sound in sequence via serial port commands. At the same time, it collects the sound source localization coordinates of the panoramic intelligent camera in real time through the network port, and the program automatically performs interval matching judgment. This process completely replaces the manual operation and visual judgment of the test personnel walking around the machine and making sounds in the traditional test, fundamentally eliminating the inefficiency and subjective misjudgment caused by human factors. This enables the sound source localization testing process in mass production to be fully automated, highly accurate and fast.

[0013] 2. This invention, by setting up a multi-channel sound source triggering fixture module and using sound insulation cotton to surround the circular area around and on top, effectively blocks irrelevant external sound source interference and avoids the generation of sound wave reflection within the test space. This optimized acoustic environment ensures that the sound source signal received by the panoramic intelligent camera microphone array is single and clear during the test, thereby greatly improving the effectiveness of the sound source generation process and providing a stable and reliable input for subsequent sound source localization algorithm judgment.

[0014] 3. This invention automatically sends the panoramic intelligent camera under test into the system center via an electric guide rail, and replaces the physical labor of continuous sound emission and movement by the test personnel with a software-controlled multi-channel speaker system. This design transforms heavy and repetitive physical work into a programmed and automated process, thereby significantly reducing the physical exertion on the test personnel, greatly reducing labor costs, and the modular tooling design makes the entire system flexible to deploy and economical. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of the program logic of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a system block diagram of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a system architecture diagram of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a diagram showing the interval correspondence of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0016] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0017] Example: Please see the appendix Figure 1 - Appendix Figure 4 This invention provides a fully automated sound source localization testing system for panoramic intelligent cameras, the system comprising: The multi-channel sound source triggering fixture module is used to construct a sound insulation test environment and provide a location sound source. The module includes a sound insulation component, an electric guide rail, an eight-channel relay, and an eight-channel speaker. The eight speakers are arranged at intervals along the circumference and are electrically connected to each channel of the eight-channel relay. The electric guide rail is used to transport the panoramic smart camera under test to the test center position. In this embodiment, the multi-channel sound source triggering fixture module serves as the physical platform and environmental construction basis for the sound source localization test of the panoramic intelligent camera. It mainly includes an environmental isolation component, a delivery and positioning component, a sound source generation component, and a control and switching component.

[0018] To ensure the accuracy of sound source localization testing, avoid interference from external environmental noise on test results, and prevent sound wave reflections (echoes) from affecting the algorithm judgment of the panoramic intelligent camera during the test, the environmental isolation components are preferably made of sound-absorbing materials such as sound insulation cotton.

[0019] Sound-absorbing cotton is arranged to form a closed or semi-closed circular area, which constitutes the main testing space. Sound-absorbing cotton is also laid on top of the circular area, thus creating an acoustic environment similar to an anechoic chamber. This ensures that the sound signal emitted by the sound source is singular and effective during the test, blocking interference from irrelevant sound sources.

[0020] Regarding the size of the aforementioned circular area, the radius of the circle can be set within the range of 1 to 1.5 meters to simulate the appropriate distance between the sound source and the camera in actual use scenarios.

[0021] The sound source generating component is used to generate test sound signals with a specific orientation. This component includes several sound generating units, preferably using a loudspeaker as the sound source.

[0022] To cover the 360-degree sound pickup range of the panoramic smart camera, the number of speakers is preferentially set to eight. These eight speakers are evenly distributed along the circumference of the circular area, that is, one speaker is placed at every 45-degree angle, thereby constructing eight standard directional sound source points in physical space.

[0023] The control switching component is used to automate the control of sound sources from various directions. This component preferably uses an eight-channel relay module. Eight speakers are electrically connected to eight independent channels of the eight-channel relay.

[0024] By controlling the activation and deactivation of eight-channel relays, the on / off state of the corresponding channel speaker circuit can be remotely controlled. When the circuit is closed, the corresponding speaker plays sound; when the circuit is open, the corresponding speaker stops playing. This design allows the test program to precisely control the opening or closing of a sound source in a specific location, providing a hardware foundation for subsequent automated testing.

[0025] Regarding the connection sequence of the horns and relays, an orderly wiring method should be prioritized. Starting with a horn on the circular area, connect each horn to the relay channel in a counter-clockwise direction, thus ensuring that the physical spatial order matches the logical order of the relay channels.

[0026] The conveyor positioning component is used to automate the loading, unloading, and positioning of the product under test. This component preferably uses a motorized guide rail. The motorized guide rail is positioned along a radius line of a circular area, extending towards the center of the circle.

[0027] The purpose of the electric guide rail is to smoothly send the panoramic smart camera under test into the fixture and make it accurately stop at the geometric center of the circular system, so as to ensure that the distance from the camera to the speakers in all directions is basically the same.

[0028] To establish the correspondence between the panoramic smart camera's own coordinate system and the location of the external physical sound source, a specific alignment operation is required during the installation or debugging phase before testing. This involves aligning the designated lens of the panoramic smart camera under test with the speaker connected to a specific channel of the relay.

[0029] The above alignment operation can fix the panoramic coordinate system of the panoramic smart camera and the relative physical positions of the eight directional speakers, thus providing a benchmark for the software system to determine whether the sound source location coordinates fall within the correct range.

[0030] The sound source localization test software control module is connected to the eight-channel relay and the panoramic smart camera under test. This module is used to send commands to control the on / off state of the eight-channel relay to drive the speaker in the corresponding direction to emit sound, and to read the sound source localization coordinates fed back by the panoramic smart camera under test in real time. The sound source localization coordinates are matched with the preset direction interval corresponding to the current speaker to determine whether the sound source localization is accurate.

[0031] In this embodiment, the sound source localization test software control module runs preferentially on the host computer and connects and interacts with the eight-channel relay in the multi-channel sound source triggering fixture module and the panoramic smart camera under test through a specific communication interface.

[0032] The host computer establishes a communication connection with the eight-channel relay module via a serial port. Through this connection, the software control module can send serial commands to the relay, thereby remotely controlling the opening and closing of any one or more channels in the relay, realizing the power-on or power-off control of the speaker in a specific direction, and thus controlling the opening and closing of a sound source in a certain direction.

[0033] The host computer establishes a communication connection with the panoramic intelligent camera under test via the network port. This connection channel is used to continuously read the current sound source location coordinates calculated and output by the panoramic intelligent camera in real time. This coordinate information reflects the direction determination result of the received sound signal by the camera's internal algorithm.

[0034] Once the tooling is assembled and the panoramic smart camera to be tested is pushed into the center of the system via the electric guide rail and initially aligned, the software control module can start the testing process and begin the automated testing workflow.

[0035] During the test process, the software control module first sends a command to the relay via the serial port, causing the speaker circuit at a preset specific location to close and emit sound.

[0036] After the speaker emits sound from a specific location, the software control module continuously or periodically reads the sound source location coordinates from the panoramic smart camera via the network port. The read coordinate data represents the location of the most prominent sound source currently identified by the camera's algorithm.

[0037] To determine the test results, the software control module includes a matching judgment module. This module pre-stores the preset azimuth intervals corresponding to each of the eight speaker channels, preferably defined by angle values ​​or pixel coordinate ranges.

[0038] The matching and judgment module works by establishing an acceptable positioning interval. This interval is then used to match two locations. For example, if a speaker is controlled to play sound from the due east direction, the sound source's location must also be within the due east interval. The correspondence is as follows: Figure 4 As shown. When the program controls the speaker in the due east direction to play sound, the matching module requires that the sound source location coordinates fed back by the camera must fall within the preset due east direction range.

[0039] If the sound source location coordinates fed back by the camera fall within the preset range corresponding to the current speaker, the sound source location test for that location is considered to have passed, meaning that the camera's sound source location function is accurate in that location.

[0040] The software control module will execute the test for each channel sequentially and automatically, that is, control the speakers of the eight channels to emit sound in turn, and acquire and match the positioning results for each direction. When all eight channels have been tested, if the results for all directions match successfully, the sound source localization function of the panoramic smart camera is considered to have been successfully tested.

[0041] Through the above-mentioned automated program logic, the triggering of the sound source and the determination of the localization result are separated, so that the entire sound source localization test process does not require manual intervention or judgment, which effectively improves the efficiency of the test and the accuracy of the results, and eliminates the misjudgment problem that may occur in traditional manual testing.

[0042] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A fully automated sound source localization testing system for a panoramic intelligent camera, characterized in that, The system includes: A multi-channel sound source triggering fixture module is used to construct a sound insulation test environment and provide a location sound source. The module includes a sound insulation component, an electric guide rail, an eight-channel relay, and an eight-channel speaker. The eight speakers are arranged at intervals along the circumference and are electrically connected to each channel of the eight-channel relay. The electric guide rail is used to transport the panoramic smart camera under test to the test center position. The sound source localization test software control module is communicatively connected to the eight-channel relay and the panoramic smart camera under test. This module is used to send commands to control the on / off state of the eight-channel relay to drive the speaker in the corresponding direction to emit sound, and to read the sound source localization coordinates fed back by the panoramic smart camera under test in real time. The sound source localization coordinates are matched with the preset directional interval corresponding to the current speaker to determine whether the sound source localization is accurate.

2. The fully automatic sound source localization testing system for a panoramic intelligent camera according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sound insulation component is formed by surrounding a circular area with sound insulation cotton, and a layer of sound insulation cotton is laid on top to block external sound source interference and avoid echoes; the radius of the circular area is 1 to 1.5 meters.

3. The fully automatic sound source localization testing system for a panoramic intelligent camera according to claim 2, characterized in that, The eight-channel speaker consists of eight speakers, spaced at 45-degree angles, and connected to the channels of the eight-channel relay in a counter-clockwise order.

4. The fully automatic sound source localization testing system for a panoramic intelligent camera according to claim 1, characterized in that, The electric guide rail is set on a radius of the circular area surrounded by the eight speakers; in the test state, the designated lens of the panoramic smart camera under test is aligned with the speaker connected to a specific channel of the eight-channel relay to fix the panoramic coordinates and the relative position of the eight directional speakers.

5. The fully automatic sound source localization testing system for a panoramic intelligent camera according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sound source localization test software control module is connected to the eight-channel relay via a serial port and to the panoramic smart camera under test via a network port.

6. The fully automatic sound source localization testing system for a panoramic intelligent camera according to claim 1, characterized in that, The testing process of the sound source localization test software control module includes: The serial port command controls the closure of a channel of the eight-channel relay, causing the speaker in the corresponding position to play sound. Obtain the current sound source location of the panoramic smart camera under test via the network port. The obtained sound source location is matched with the preset coordinate range corresponding to the current speaker; if the location falls within the range, the location test is considered passed. Perform the tests for each channel in the manner described above until all channels have been tested.

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