Method for discovering a radio communication network and filtering an audio signal allowing group communication

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for discovering a radio communication network and filtering an audio signal (S1) allowing group communication between a plurality of electronic terminals co-located in a radio zone, the method comprising: · Transmitting a first radio signal (Sr1) via a first electronic terminal (T1); · Calculating a received signal power value and comparing said calculated received signal power value with a first threshold; · Receiving said first radio signal (Sr1) via a plurality of electronic terminals.

Description

[0001] Description

[0002] METHOD FOR DISCOVERING A RADIO COMMUNICATION NETWORK AND FILTERING AN AUDIO SIGNAL ALLOWING COMMUNICATION

[0003] BAND

[0004] Field of invention

[0005] The field of the invention relates to the field of radio communication methods. More particularly, the field of the invention relates to the field of radio communication and audio signal filtering methods. In particular, the field of the invention relates to the field of radio communication and audio signal filtering methods in a group communication context.

[0006] State of the art

[0007] Today, workplace safety and well-being are among the major challenges facing industrial companies. To ensure the safety of their employees, employers are required to provide them with personal protective equipment, also known as PPE. This equipment protects employees from the risks they face daily. This equipment may include helmets, goggles, safety shoes, and gloves. When employees are exposed to particularly noisy work environments, such as a construction site or a machine room, it is also important to ensure their hearing safety. To this end, PPE may also include hearing protection.

[0008] While these hearing protectors can be particularly effective in protecting employees from the risks of long-term exposure to high noise levels, another challenge is enabling employees to communicate effectively in these noisy environments. Indeed, existing hearing protectors have the disadvantage of isolating employees from one another and do not allow for group communication.

[0009] There are systems in the prior art that allow group communication between several users. For example, portable communication devices are known that communicate with each other, for example via a radio channel. These are, for example, portable radio transceiver systems that allow a radio link over short distances. Such systems are generally referred to in the literature as "Walkie-Talkie". However, a problem exists, since the surrounding noise, intrinsic to the environment in which the employee operates, negatively influences the quality of the communication. However, such systems have the disadvantage of having poor filtering performance, and require manual action from the user to speak. In addition, these systems do not allow for efficient management of changes in communication channels.They are therefore unsuitable for certain environments, for example a noisy production line in which efficient group communication between several users is required. Other environments may also be affected by such an issue, including concert halls, the building and construction sector, sports environments, for example for cyclists or skiers, and more generally any environment in which ambient noise has a negative influence on the quality of communication between several users.

[0010] Methods enabling group communication between a set of co-located devices are known in the prior art. For example, patent FR3076154 describes a telecommunications method in a group consisting of a plurality of devices, via a connection according to the IEEE 802.11 standards of a wireless local area network. However, this patent describes the implementation of a Wi-Fi protocol requiring the configuration of a centralizing device. A problem with this method is that group communication is only permitted via this centralizing device, which receives the signals transmitted by one of the terminals to retransmit them to the other terminals. In other words, such a system cannot operate if the centralizing device is not present in the communication network, which makes the implementation complex and unsuitable for certain use cases.Another problem with this method is that it does not allow for limiting poor quality signals, for example, signals emitted at the edge of the communication range. Another disadvantage is that the system's energy consumption is high due to the power consumption of the centralizing device.

[0011] Another example is patent FR2988549, which describes a communication terminal that includes a digital communication circuit using time division multiplexing on a radio channel, and implementing wireless communication in "conference" and "hands-free" mode on an autonomous network, between at least two carriers of peer devices. This patent describes a synchronization technique requiring the definition of clocks and master / slave terminals to implement the "conference" mode. A problem with this solution is that it also does not limit poor quality signals during group communication.

[0012] An objective of the invention is to limit at least one of the aforementioned drawbacks.

[0013] Summary of the invention

[0014] To this end, and according to a first aspect, the invention relates to a method for discovering a radio communication network and filtering an audio signal, said method allowing group communication between a plurality of electronic terminals co-located in a radio zone, each electronic terminal comprising at least one communication interface for transmitting and receiving radio signals, the method comprising:

[0015] · Emission of a first radio signal by a first electronic terminal comprising: o Acquisition of the first audio signal by a microphone; o Detection of data characteristic of a voice in the first audio signal by implementing a first signal processing function; o Implementation of a first control law to implement the following steps when the data characteristic of a voice has been detected in the first audio signal; i. Filtering, encoding including a compression and modulation step, by a signal processing chain, of said first audio signal received to obtain the first radio signal capable of being emitted within a radio channel; ii. Emission of the first radio signal by means of a radio transmitter and via a wireless link;

[0016] · Calculating a received signal power value and comparing said calculated received signal power value with a first threshold;

[0017] · Reception of said first radio signal by a plurality of electronic terminals, comprising: o Detection of the first radio signal by a radio communication interface of each terminal among the plurality of electronic terminals; o Baseband demodulation comprising the first filtered audio signal of said first radio signal; o Decompression and amplification, by a second signal processing chain, of said first filtered audio signal; o Delivery of the decompressed and amplified first audio signal to an audio output of each terminal among the plurality of electronic terminals;

[0018] According to one embodiment, the method comprises a pairing step between the first electronic terminal and the plurality of electronic terminals prior to the transmission step, said pairing step comprising:

[0019] · Calculation, by each electronic terminal of the plurality of electronic terminals, of a second signal power value received from a pairing signal transmitted by the first electronic terminal;

[0020] · Comparison, with a second threshold, of said second calculated received signal power value;

[0021] · Implementation of a second control law comprising: o generation of a command to authorize the transmission of the first radio signal when the second calculated received signal power value is greater than or equal to the second threshold, o generation of a command to block the transmission of the first radio signal when the second calculated received signal power value is less than the second threshold.

[0022] One advantage is to reduce the overall power consumption of the system by conditioning the pairing of terminals between them to a minimum level of received signal power.

[0023] According to one embodiment, the encoding implemented by the first control law comprises the encoding of an identifier of the first terminal. This is for example a MAC address of the first terminal.

[0024] According to one embodiment, group communication between the electronic terminals is implemented using the IPv6 Thread network protocol.

[0025] According to one embodiment, the pairing step comprises an addressing step comprising the allocation of an IP address to at least one terminal of the plurality of terminals by the first terminal.

[0026] According to one embodiment, the communication interface of each electronic terminal allows wireless communications broadcast to the other terminals, and allows the transmission and reception, by each electronic terminal, of datagrams following a user datagram protocol.

[0027] According to one embodiment, the filtering of the first local audio signal in the transmission step is carried out by means of a low-pass filter whose cut-off frequency is between 300 Hz and 400 Hz.

[0028] One advantage is to allow the implementation of a method including or not the implementation of a routing table.

[0029] According to one embodiment, the communication interface of each electronic terminal allows wireless communications broadcast to the other terminals, and allows the transmission and reception, by each electronic terminal, of datagrams following a transmission control protocol. An advantage is to allow group communication in a “conference” mode between several users co-located in the same radio zone.

[0030] According to one embodiment, the filtering of the first local audio signal in the transmission step is carried out by means of a bandpass filter whose bandwidth is between 300Hz and 3.5kHz.

[0031] According to one embodiment, the steps of demodulating and decompressing the first radio signal are implemented by the plurality of electronic terminals only when a power value of the first radio signal S r1 received is greater than a predetermined threshold.

[0032] According to one embodiment, the detection of the data characteristic of a voice in the first audio signal comprises:

[0033] · the detection of a spectrogram characteristic of a voice or;

[0034] · the detection of a characteristic power of a voice or;

[0035] · the detection of a spectral density characteristic of a voice or;

[0036] · the detection of a spectral pattern characteristic of a voice or,

[0037] · the calculation of a baseband signal-to-noise ratio.

[0038] One advantage is that it allows the detection of the characteristic data of a voice in the first audio signal depending on different parameters.

[0039] According to one embodiment, at least one electronic terminal among the plurality of electronic terminals is a leader terminal managing a routing table of the radio communication network.

[0040] One advantage is that it allows the management of radio communication between electronic terminals based on the entries and exits of the communication bubble delimited by radio zone G.

[0041] Another advantage is to allow the leader function to be switched to another electronic terminal when the current leader terminal leaves the radio zone G.

[0042] According to one embodiment, the demodulation, decompression and delivery steps are implemented only when a power value of the first received radio signal is greater than a predetermined threshold. According to another aspect, the invention relates to a communication system comprising a plurality of electronic terminals capable of communicating with each other when said plurality of electronic terminals is co-located in the same radio zone, each electronic terminal comprising:

[0043] · A microphone to acquire a first audio signal;

[0044] · A radio transmitter to: o Emit a first radio signal within a radio channel

[0045] · A radio receiver for receiving a radio signal comprising a data frame encoding an audio signal;

[0046] · A first computer for executing a first signal processing chain configured to implement: o A step of processing the first audio signal acquired by the microphone comprising: i. detecting data characteristic of a voice in the first local audio signal by means of a signal processing function; ii. implementing a first control law when the data characteristic of a voice has been detected in the first local audio signal, comprising filtering the first audio signal to obtain a first filtered audio signal;

[0047] · A second computer for implementing: o Upstream of the transmission of the first radio signal: i. reception of the first filtered audio signal; ii. encoding comprising the compression and modulation of the first filtered audio signal to obtain the first radio signal capable of being transmitted within a radio channel; o Upon reception of a radio signal: i. calculation of a power value of a received radio signal and comparison of said calculated power value of the received radio signal with a first threshold; ii. Baseband demodulation of the received radio signal to obtain an audio signal; iii. Decompression of said audio signal, iv. Delivery of the decompressed audio signal to the first computer which amplifies said decompressed audio signal and delivers said decompressed and amplified audio signal to an audio output of the terminal.

[0048] According to one embodiment, the second computer is configured to implement a control law comprising:

[0049] · generation of a radio signal reception authorization command when the calculated received signal power value is greater than or equal to the first threshold,

[0050] · generation of a command to block reception of the radio signal when the calculated received signal power value is lower than the first threshold.

[0051] According to another aspect, the invention relates to a computer program product comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the latter to implement the following steps:

[0052] · Detection of data characteristic of a voice in a first audio signal acquired by a microphone of an electronic terminal;

[0053] · Implementation of a first control law, when the data characteristic of a voice is detected in the first audio signal, comprising: o Filtering of the first audio signal; o Encoding comprising the compression of the first audio signal by means of an audio codec; o Modulation of the first audio signal to obtain a first radio signal capable of being transmitted within a radio channel by a radio transmitter.

[0054] According to one aspect, the invention relates to a method for discovering a radio communication network and filtering an audio signal, said method enabling group communication between a plurality of electronic terminals co-located in a radio zone, each electronic terminal comprising at least one communication interface for transmitting and receiving radio signals, the method comprising:

[0055] • Emission of a first radio signal by a first electronic terminal comprising: o Acquisition of the first audio signal by a microphone; o Detection of data characteristic of a voice in the first audio signal by the implementation of a first signal processing function; o Implementation of a first control law to implement the following steps when the data characteristic of a voice has been detected in the first audio signal;

[0056] · Filtering, encoding including a compression and modulation step, by a signal processing chain, of said first acquired audio signal, to obtain the first radio signal capable of being transmitted within a radio channel;

[0057] · Transmission of the first radio signal by means of a radio transmitter and via a wireless link;

[0058] • Reception of said first radio signal by a plurality of electronic terminals, comprising: o Detection of the first radio signal by a radio communication interface of each terminal among the plurality of electronic terminals; o Calculation of a received signal power value and comparison of said calculated received signal power value with a first threshold; o Implementation of the following steps when said received signal power value is greater than said first threshold:

[0059] · Baseband demodulation comprising the first filtered audio signal of said first radio signal; · Decompression and amplification, by a second signal processing chain, of said first filtered audio signal,

[0060] · Outputting the decompressed and amplified first audio signal to an audio output of each of the plurality of electronic terminals.

[0061] According to one embodiment, the received signal power value comprises a communication quality indicator, and wherein calculating said received signal power value comprises calculating an exponential moving average of power values ​​of a plurality of first radio signals transmitted by the first terminal.

[0062] According to one embodiment, the signal processing function for detecting the characteristic data of a voice is implemented automatically in response to the acquisition of the first audio signal by the microphone.

[0063] According to one embodiment, the method comprises:

[0064] * acquisition of a second audio signal of surrounding noise by means of a microphone;

[0065] * calculating a first energy level of the first audio signal and a second energy level of the second audio signal using the first calculator;

[0066] * automatic setting of a voice detection threshold based on the energy level of the second calculated audio signal;

[0067] * comparison of the first energy level with said voice detection threshold, the first control law being implemented when the first energy level is greater than the voice detection threshold.

[0068] According to one embodiment, the method comprises:

[0069] * acquiring a plurality of second audio signals by means of a microphone for a first duration;

[0070] * calculating an average energy level of the second audio signals using the first calculator;

[0071] * automatic setting of the voice detection threshold as a function of the average energy level calculated by means of the first calculator. According to one embodiment, the average energy level of the second audio signals is recalculated automatically and periodically, the voice detection threshold being recalculated automatically with each new calculation of said average energy level of the second signals.

[0072] According to one embodiment, the detection of the data characteristic of a voice in the first audio signal comprises the comparison of the first energy level with the voice detection threshold, the data characteristic of a voice being detected when the first energy level is greater than the voice detection threshold.

[0073] According to one embodiment, the step of transmitting the first radio signal comprises a step of normalizing sound intensity parameters of the first audio signal according to a configurable threshold.

[0074] According to one embodiment, the step of receiving the first radio signal comprises a step of identifying the first electronic terminal by the receiving terminal, said identification comprising a comparison of a sequence of parameters of the first radio signal with predefined parameters to authorize or not the reception of the first radio signal.

[0075] According to one embodiment, the step of transmitting the first radio signal comprises a real-time comparison of a number of transmitters within a radio channel with a threshold value, the first control law only being implemented when said number of transmitters is less than said threshold value.

[0076] According to one embodiment, receiving the first radio signal comprises implementing an algorithm to generate an unreceived or degraded portion of said first radio signal from a received portion of said first radio signal.

[0077] According to one embodiment, receiving the first radio signal comprises implementing an algorithm to generate an unreceived or degraded portion of said first radio signal from a received portion of said first radio signal.

[0078] According to another aspect, the invention relates to a communication system comprising a plurality of electronic terminals capable of communicating with each other when said plurality of electronic terminals is co-located in the same radio zone, each electronic terminal comprising:

[0079] • a microphone to acquire a first audio signal;

[0080] • a radio transmitter for transmitting a first radio signal within a radio channel;

[0081] • a radio receiver for receiving a radio signal comprising a data frame encoding an audio signal;

[0082] • a first computer for executing a first signal processing chain configured to implement: o a step of processing the first audio signal acquired by the microphone comprising:

[0083] · detecting a characteristic data of a voice in the first local audio signal by means of a signal processing function;

[0084] · implementing a first control law when the characteristic data of a voice has been detected in the first local audio signal, comprising filtering the first audio signal to obtain a first filtered audio signal;

[0085] • a second calculator to implement: o Upstream of the emission of the first radio signal:

[0086] · reception of the first filtered audio signal;

[0087] · encoding comprising the compression and modulation of the first filtered audio signal to obtain the first radio signal capable of being transmitted within a radio channel; o Upon reception of a radio signal:

[0088] · calculating a power value of a received radio signal and comparing said calculated received radio signal power value with a first threshold and, when said received radio signal power value is greater than the first threshold:

[0089] * baseband demodulation of the received radio signal to obtain an audio signal;

[0090] * decompression of said audio signal, • delivery of the decompressed audio signal to the first computer which amplifies said decompressed audio signal and delivers said decompressed and amplified audio signal to an audio output of the terminal.

[0091] In one embodiment, the second computer is configured to implement a control law comprising:

[0092] • generation of a radio signal reception authorization command when the calculated received signal power value is greater than or equal to the first threshold,

[0093] • generation of a command to block reception of the radio signal when the calculated received signal power value is lower than the first threshold.

[0094] Brief description of the figures

[0095] Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge on reading the detailed description which follows, with reference to the appended figures, which illustrate:

[0096] Fig. 1: a schematic representation of the method of the invention implemented within the framework of a group communication between four electronic terminals co-located in the same radio zone.

[0097] Fig. 2: a schematic representation of the steps of the method of the invention, represented according to the example of a radio communication between two electronic terminals.

[0098] Fig.3: A detailed schematic representation of the step of transmitting the first radio signal by the first terminal shown in Figure 2.

[0099] Fig.4: a schematic representation of a radio communication between two electronic terminals according to the method of the invention, in an embodiment where the two electronic terminals each comprise two computers, and are each both transmitter and receiver.

[0100] Fig.5: A detailed schematic representation of the step of receiving the first radio signal by a second terminal, shown in Figure 2.

[0101] Fig.6: a schematic representation of a pairing step between two electronic terminals. Fig.7: a schematic representation of the transmission and reception steps implemented by the first electronic terminal transmitting the first radio signal, and having received a radio signal transmitted by another electronic terminal.

[0102] Description of the invention

[0103] According to a first aspect, the invention relates to a method for discovering a radio communication network and filtering an audio signal S1.

[0104] The method of the invention allows the establishment of group communication between several electronic terminals, denoted T1...T x , which are co-located in the same radio zone, noted G.

[0105] The notation T1...T xillustrates that the number of electronic terminals communicating in the radio zone G is not limited in itself. Figure 1 illustrates an embodiment in which four electronic terminals, denoted T1...T4, communicate with each other. However, the invention is not limited to the implementation of a predefined number of electronic terminals.

[0106] Radio zone G refers to a "communication bubble" in which electronic terminals T1...T x can be paired with each other, so as to establish radio communication and to exchange data messages via radio signals, through a radio communication network. The radio zone G extends, for example, so that a maximum distance of 10 meters separates the electronic terminals T1...T xthe furthest from each other. This communication range is interesting because it corresponds to the maximum range allowing natural communication between two individuals in a non-noisy environment. However, the invention is not limited to the communication range of the aforementioned example. This range may vary depending on the use cases, the equipment and its configuration, the number of users, and the communication environments. According to another example, the communication range between the two most distant electronic terminals in radio zone G is 40 meters.

[0107] A "radio communication network" means a set of radio channels enabling the exchange of information via radio signals. This information is, for example, exchanged between electronic terminals T1...T x which are connected to each other via one or more radio channels.

[0108] The method comprises several steps making it possible to achieve radio communication between the plurality of electronic terminals T1...T x collocated in radio zone G.

[0109] Radio communication means the transfer of data by radio between one or more transmitting terminals and one or more receiving terminals. For example, useful data is encoded in a radio signal and transmitted from the transmitting terminal to the receiving terminals via a radio communication interface for transmitting and receiving radio signals.

[0110] In the method of the invention, the same electronic terminal is for example both a transmitter and a receiver. In the present description, embodiments are described in which the first terminal T1 is a transmitter terminal and the terminals T2...T X are receiving terminals. However, each terminal T1...Tx is likely to be both transmitter and receiver. Thus, the characteristics of a T1...T terminal x can be applied directly to another terminal T1...T x depending on whether it operates in transmitter mode or receiver mode.

[0111] This description illustrates the invention through various embodiments. Several alternative embodiments are described for each of these embodiments. These alternative embodiments can be applied indifferently to each of these embodiments. Thus, the characteristics described for one embodiment are directly applicable to another embodiment. The invention protects the different combinations of characteristics described through all of these embodiments.

[0112] Emission of a first sign! radio

[0113] With reference to Figure 2 and Figure 3, the method comprises a first step of transmitting, denoted EM, a first radio signal S r1 by a first electronic terminal T1. The transmission step EM comprises the acquisition A1 of a first audio signal S1 by a microphone 10 of the first terminal T1. By "audio signal" is meant an electrical signal resulting from the reception and conversion of sound waves by the microphone 10. These are, for example, sound waves originating from the speech of a user of the first electronic terminal T1, or sound waves originating from the environment in which the user is moving, it can also be a combination of sound waves originating from these two sources {the speech of the user and the surrounding environment.

[0114] The emission step EM comprises the detection DTC1 of data characteristic of a voice in the first audio signal S1 acquired by the microphone 10. “Data characteristic of a voice” is data whose detection makes it possible to identify that the first audio signal S1 results from the speech of a user of the first electronic terminal T1. In other words, this data makes it possible to distinguish an audio signal acquired resulting from the speech of the user closest to the microphone 10, from an audio signal acquired resulting from noise originating from the environment in which this user is located, such as for example the noise of a machine, or the noise of surrounding conversations.

[0115] The characteristic data of a voice is detected by means of a signal processing function. The signal processing function comprises, for example, a voice detection function. The signal processing function is implemented, for example, by means of a first DSP computer integrated into the first terminal T1. This is, for example, a processor optimized for performing digital signal processing functions, such as a digital signal processor, also referred to in English literature as "Digital Signal Processor" or "DSP". This is, for example, a microprocessor.

[0116] According to one embodiment, the first DSP computer comprises two computers. These are, for example, two digital signal processors. In this case, the first DSP computer comprises, for example, two memory spaces for each of the two computers.

[0117] One advantage is to optimize the calculations by distributing them between each of the two computers. For example, one of the computers handles the filtering of the first audio signal, and another computer handles the calculations allowing the detection of the characteristic data of a voice.

[0118] Automatic voice detection According to one embodiment, the step of detecting the voice characteristic data is implemented automatically in response to a detection of a sound signal by the microphone. This step is for example implemented automatically each time a sound signal is detected by the microphone, for example the first audio signal S1.

[0119] A notable advantage is to be freed from the methods of the prior art requiring prior action by the user before implementing voice detection, such as the use of a means of actuation by the user, for example a “push to talk” button according to an Anglo-Saxon term.

[0120] The first DSP calculator is for example configured to implement a signal processing chain allowing the detection of the characteristic voice data at each new acquisition of the microphone.

[0121] The implementation of the signal processing chain comprises for example the comparison of a parameter of the first audio signal S1 with a threshold value, for example a comparison of an energy of the first audio signal S1 with the threshold value.

[0122] The threshold value is, for example, calculated based on environmental parameters, such as ambient noise parameters. These parameters include, for example, parameters relating to one or more signals acquired by means of a microphone. The threshold value is, for example, determined from the implementation of a mathematical function that depends on one or more of these parameters. The threshold value is, for example, determined based on the amplitudes of the acquired signals. The threshold value is, for example, determined from the implementation of a mathematical operation, for example, a sum of the squares of the amplitudes of the signals acquired over a given time interval.

[0123] In an example, the threshold value set to be equal to the result of this mathematical operation.

[0124] In another example, the threshold value is set to be greater than the result of this mathematical operation.

[0125] According to one embodiment, the filtering step and the step of detecting data characteristic of a voice are implemented on the first audio signal S1 following a predefined sequence. The predefined sequence comprises for example the following steps: • reception of the first audio signal S1 by the first DSP computer of the first terminal;

[0126] • implementation of a bandpass filter on the first audio signal S1;

[0127] • implementation of a voice detection function to detect the characteristic data of a voice in the first filtered audio signal S1;

[0128] • transmission of the first audio signal S1 to a second MCU computer when the characteristic data of a voice is detected in the first audio signal S1.

[0129] Adjustable voice detection threshold

[0130] In one embodiment, the method comprises acquiring at least one second audio signal S2 by the first terminal T1.

[0131] The second audio signal S2 is called a signal used to set a voice detection threshold S v The second audio signal S2 includes, for example, ambient noise parameters.

[0132] In one embodiment, the method comprises acquiring the second signal S2 using a microphone separate from the microphone configured to acquire the first audio signal S1.

[0133] In one embodiment, the first audio signal S1 is acquired by a first microphone and the second audio signal S2 is acquired by a second microphone.

[0134] One advantage is that it allows for more accurate calculation of the voice detection threshold.

[0135] In one embodiment, the method comprises a step of calculating a first energy level E1 of the first audio signal S1.

[0136] In one embodiment, the method comprises a step of calculating a second energy level E2 of the second audio signal S2.

[0137] In one embodiment, the method comprises a step of automatically setting a voice detection threshold S v . The voice detection threshold S v is for example automatically set according to the second energy level E2 calculated.

[0138] An advantage is to adjust the voice detection threshold to the ambient noise level. For example, the higher the ambient noise, the higher the voice detection threshold will be adjusted. In one embodiment, the method comprises a step of comparing the first energy level E1 with the voice detection threshold S v , the first control law L C1being implemented when the first energy level E1 is greater than the voice detection threshold S v .

[0139] An advantage is to condition the emission of the first radio signal S1 on a sufficient energy level of the audio signal picked up by the microphone depending on the ambient noise, and therefore maximize the chances that the transmitted signal is a signal containing voice data.

[0140] In one embodiment, the characteristic data of a voice is detected when the first energy level E1 is greater than the voice detection threshold S v .

[0141] One advantage is to condition the detection of the characteristic voice data in the first audio signal on a sufficient energy level of this signal compared to the ambient noise.

[0142] In one embodiment, the method comprises a step of acquiring a plurality of second audio signals S2. The second audio signals S2 are for example acquired over a predetermined duration.

[0143] In one embodiment, the method comprises a step of calculating an average energy level of a plurality of second audio signals S2, the voice detection threshold S v being automatically set according to said average energy level.

[0144] In one embodiment, the average energy level of the second audio signals S2 is automatically and periodically recalculated, the voice detection threshold S v being automatically recalculated at each new calculation of said average energy level of the second audio signals S2 and as a function of said average energy level of the second signals S2.

[0145] One advantage is that it automatically and continuously sets a voice detection threshold that automatically adjusts based on the ambient noise level.

[0146] In one embodiment, the voice detection threshold S v is set using the first audio signal S1 or the second audio signal S2. In one embodiment, the voice detection threshold S v is set using the first audio signal S1 and the second audio signal S2.

[0147] According to one embodiment, the method comprises the implementation of an equalizer. One advantage is to modify frequencies of the first audio signal S1. The equalizer makes it possible, for example, to increase or lower certain frequencies to reinforce / lighten low or high frequencies, or to lower unwanted noise, such as hiss. Another advantage of the equalizer is to improve the quality of the signal when using an in-ear microphone. Indeed, the use of an in-ear microphone “stifles” the signal on the high frequencies, and it is necessary to process this signal to increase its amplitude on the high frequencies upstream of its processing by the other elements of the signal processing chain. This advantageously makes it possible to improve intelligibility.

[0148] According to one embodiment, the method comprises the implementation of a noise reducer, also referred to in the English literature as a “noise reducer”. An advantage of the noise reducer is to contribute to the reduction of environmental noise to enable better distinction of the voice signal in the first audio signal S1.

[0149] According to one embodiment, the DTC1 detection of data characteristic of a voice comprises the detection of a spectrogram characteristic of a voice.

[0150] According to one embodiment, the DTC1 detection of data characteristic of a voice comprises the detection of a power or a spectral density characteristic of a voice.

[0151] According to one embodiment, the detection DTC1 of data characteristic of a voice comprises the detection of at least one spectral pattern characteristic of a voice.

[0152] According to one embodiment, the detection DTC1 of data characteristic of a voice comprises the calculation of a signal-to-noise ratio in baseband. Such a calculation is for example implemented by means of the first calculator integrated in the first terminal T1. The useful signal is called "baseband" when it is not modulated. In other words, the useful signal (for example the first audio signal S1) is distinguished from the useful signal transported via a modulated carrier wave.

[0153] When the characteristic data of a voice has been detected in the first audio signal S1, the emission step EM comprises the implementation of a first control law L C1 . This first control law L C1 includes filtering, compression and modulation of the first audio signal S1.

[0154] An advantage of implementing the first control law L C1only following voice detection is to reduce the system's energy consumption. For example, in a broadcast communication mode, the first terminal T1 will only emit radio signals when the user of the first terminal T1 speaks.

[0155] Another advantage is to reduce the saturation level of the radio channel by avoiding the transmission of interfering signals, for example when a microphone of the first terminal only picks up the surrounding noise.

[0156] These steps are implemented by a signal processing chain CTS1. With reference to Figure 4 and Figure 7, the signal processing chain CTS1 is for example executed by two separate computers. These are for example the first DSP computer and a second MCU computer. The first DSP computer and the second MCU computer are for example integrated into the first terminal T1. The filtering step is for example implemented by the first DSP computer. The compression and modulation steps are for example implemented by the second MCU computer. The second MCU computer comprises for example an integrated circuit comprising a processor, a memory and input-output peripherals. This is for example a microcontroller.

[0157] In one embodiment, the first DSP computer comprises the second MCU computer.

[0158] According to one embodiment, the implementation of the first control law L C1 includes the implementation of the equalizer. The equalizer is for example implemented between the filtering step and the compression step of the first audio signal S1 in the signal processing chain.

[0159] According to one embodiment, the implementation of the first control law L C1 includes the implementation of the noise reducer. The noise reducer is for example implemented between the filtering step and the compression step of the first audio signal S1 in the signal processing chain.

[0160] The first DSP calculator and the second MCU calculator are, for example, connected via a wired connection that allows an exchange of information between the two DSP calculators, MCU. They communicate with each other, for example, via an "Integrated Interchip Sound" connection, also called "I2S".

[0161] Filtering includes, for example, the implementation of a band-pass filter on the first audio signal S1.

[0162] According to one embodiment, the filtering comprises implementing a bandpass filter whose bandwidth is between 300 Hz and 3.5 kHz. According to another example, the filtering comprises implementing a bandpass filter whose bandwidth is between 200 Hz and 4 kHz.

[0163] According to one embodiment, the method comprises the implementation of a bandpass filter whose bandwidth is between 300Hz and 3.5kHz and a function for detecting data characteristic of a voice. The function for detecting data characteristic of a voice is for example implemented after the filtering step in the signal processing chain. According to one case, the method also comprises the implementation of an equalizer. The equalizer is for example positioned in the last position in the signal processing chain.

[0164] One advantage is that it allows the use of an in-ear microphone by improving signal quality to increase intelligibility.

[0165] According to one embodiment, the method comprises implementing a low-pass filter. The low-pass filter has, for example, a cutoff frequency of between 300 Hz and 400 Hz. According to one case, the step of detecting data characteristic of a voice and the filtering step are implemented in parallel in the method. The first audio signal S1 is, for example, divided into two signals. One of the signals is, for example, processed to detect the presence or absence of data characteristic of a voice in the signal. If the data characteristic of a voice is detected, then a multiplication by "1" is, for example, implemented between the two signals, so that the first filtered audio signal S1 is either delivered as an output from the first DSP computer to the second MCU computer, for example, following an I2S protocol, or processed by another function of the signal processing chain, for example a limiter, before being sent to the second MCU computer.If the characteristic data of a voice is not detected in the second signal, then a multiplication by "0" is for example implemented between the two signals. This advantageously makes it possible to transmit only the signals in which the characteristic data of a voice has been detected by the signal processing chain.

[0166] According to one case, the method also comprises the implementation of a limiter. The limiter is for example implemented after the function of detecting data characteristic of a voice in the signal processing chain. According to one case, the method also comprises the implementation of a reducer. The reducer is for example configured to act as a bandpass filter whose bandwidth is between 250 Hz and 2500 Hz. An advantage of this embodiment is to allow the use of a microphone positioned in front of the user's mouth while optimizing the quality of the signal to allow better intelligibility.

[0167] An advantage is to specifically filter specific frequencies of the first audio signal S1 so as to preserve the voice frequencies and attenuate other frequencies, to improve the quality of communication.

[0168] According to one embodiment, the filtering step comprises the step of detecting DTC1 the characteristic data of a voice.

[0169] The compression of the first audio signal S1 is for example carried out by means of an audio compression algorithm. This algorithm is for example implemented by the second MCU computer. The audio compression algorithm comprises for example the implementation of an audio codec. The audio codec comprises for example an open audio compression format. This is for example a lossy audio compression format. This is for example an OPUS codec. The audio codec is for example parameterized with specific parameters to correspond to requirements of the second MCU computer, for example requirements in terms of processing time and / or RAM, also designated by the acronym "RAM" in English literature.Specific parameters include, for example, the implementation of a low-latency algorithm, such as an algorithm referred to in English literature as "Constrained Energy Lapped Transform", or by the acronym CELT.

[0170] The first filtered and compressed audio signal S1 is then modulated to obtain a first radio signal S r1 capable of being transmitted within a radio channel. The first radio signal S r1 is transmitted by means of an EMi radio transmitter of the first electronic terminal T1, and via a wireless connection. This is for example a Bluetooth connection, or a Wi-Fi connection.

[0171] According to one embodiment, the first radio signal S r1is transmitted using a mesh network protocol. For example, this is a protocol for wireless networks in the LR WPAN (Low Rate Wireless Personal Area Network) family. For example, this is a network protocol based on IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6). For example, this is an 802.15.4 mesh network protocol, such as "Thread".

[0172] According to one embodiment, the method comprises implementing a routing table. In this case, the method comprises, for example, designating a "leader" electronic terminal. The "leader" electronic terminal manages, for example, the routing table. An advantage is to allow the transition from a protocol not implementing a routing table to a protocol implementing a routing table, such as an 802.15.4 mesh network protocol, for example "Thread". According to this embodiment, when the "leader" electronic terminal leaves the communication zone, for example the radio zone G, a new "leader" terminal is automatically redesignated. An advantage is to allow the exit of the "leader" terminal from the radio zone not to affect continuity in the communications.This implementation is particularly advantageous compared to prior art methods implementing a centralizing device whose presence is required to enable communications between electronic terminals to operate.

[0173] In one embodiment, the step of transmitting the first radio signal S r1 includes a step of comparing a number of transmitters having transmitted within a radio reception channel with a threshold value to authorize or not the transmission of the first radio signal S r1 . The comparison step is for example carried out in real time. According to one embodiment, when the number of transmitters is greater than the threshold value at a given time, the first radio signal S r1 is not issued.

[0174] In one embodiment, the method comprises implementing a predetermined delay preceding an authorization to transmit the first radio signal S r1. For example, an electronic terminal T1...T x may authorize the transmission of the first radio signal S r1 when the number of transmitters is below the threshold value during a given period, for example a pre-set period.

[0175] One advantage is that it prevents too many users from speaking together to maintain sufficient intelligibility of the conversation. For example, a user is "muted" when the radio reception channel is overloaded.

[0176] In one embodiment, the step of transmitting the first radio signal S r1 includes the issuance of an identifier of the sending terminal. This is, for example, a unique physical identifier stored in a network card of the first T1 terminal.

[0177] In one embodiment, receiving the first radio signal S r1 comprises a step of identifying the transmitter of said first radio signal Sr1 The identification step comprises, for example, a step of analyzing parameters of the first radio signal S r1 by means of a computer. This is, for example, an analysis of a given sequence of parameters in the signal. A radio frame of the first radio signal S r1 is for example analyzed and compared with predefined parameters to authorize or not the communication between the transmitting terminal and the receiving terminal. The analysis of the sequence of parameters of the first radio signal S r1 allows for example to determine the nature of a radio communication protocol of the transmitting terminal.

[0178] One advantage is to check the compatibility of the communication protocol of the sending terminal with that of the receiving terminal.

[0179] Another advantage is to limit the reception of interfering signals, for example signals from a transmitter other than one terminal of the plurality of electronic terminals T1...T x .

[0180] Calculation of the first received power value R SSI The method comprises a step of calculating a received signal power value R SSI . This is for example the power of the first radio signal S r1 transmitted via the wireless link.

[0181] In another example, this is the power of a pairing signal emitted by the first electronic terminal T1.

[0182] The acronym R SSI used in the present description does not limit the received signal power to a power corresponding to a received signal strength indicator designated by the acronym RSSI in the English literature. According to one embodiment, the received signal power value R SSIincludes a communication quality indicator also referred to in English literature as the term “link quality indicator”, or by the acronym LQI.

[0183] According to one embodiment, the calculated received signal power R SSI includes an average of the powers received over a given period. This is, for example, an average of the powers received from several signals emitted by a given transmitter, for example an average of the powers of a plurality of first radio signals S r1emitted by the first electronic terminal T1. This is, for example, an exponential moving average. In this case, the average of the received powers is, for example, calculated taking into account the order in which the signals were received. The exponential moving average is, for example, calculated over a given period using a weighting of the received powers that decreases exponentially depending on the order in which the signals were received. In this case, a larger coefficient is, for example, assigned to the last signals received for calculating the average, and this coefficient decreases, for example, exponentially for the signals received earlier.

[0184] This calculation is implemented, for example, by means of a calculator integrated into the electronic terminals T1...T x . This is for example the second MCU calculator.

[0185] The method then comprises a comparison step COMP1 of the calculated power value with a first threshold. The comparison step COMP1 is for example carried out by means of a comparison function. This function is for example implemented by the computer which made it possible to calculate said power value. According to one embodiment, the pairing step APP is not implemented when the received signal power value R SSI calculated is lower than the threshold value. In this case, if a pairing signal received by an electronic terminal T1...T x is too low, then the electronic terminals do not pair.

[0186] According to one embodiment, the steps of calculating the received signal power value R SSI , and comparison COMP1 of the calculated power value with a threshold value are implemented by an electronic terminal T1...T xwhen receiving a radio signal emitted by an electronic terminal with which it has previously paired.

[0187] According to another example, in a broadcast communication mode not requiring prior pairing, the calculation of the received signal power value R SSI is carried out at each new reception of a radio signal by an electronic terminal of the plurality of electronic terminals T1...T x .

[0188] One advantage is to detect whether a signal is sufficiently energized before its transmission to an audio output of a receiving terminal.

[0189] According to one embodiment, the method comprises calculating a value of a communication quality indicator, also referred to in English literature as the term "link quality indicator", or by the acronym LQI. Such an indicator makes it possible to quantify the quality of the communication between the transmitting and receiving terminals.

[0190] According to one embodiment, any of the steps implemented by the method comprising comparing a power value R SSI with a threshold value and the conditioning of a step of the process on the result of this comparison is carried out by comparing the value of the communication quality indicator LQI with a threshold value.

[0191] According to one embodiment, a received signal power value R SSI is calculated and compared with one or more threshold values ​​each time a signal is received by an electronic terminal T1...T x .

[0192] According to one embodiment, the radio signals received by one or more electronic terminals T1...T x are not processed when the received signal power value R SSI is less than a threshold value. “The radio signals are not processed” means that the demodulation and decompression steps are not implemented on said radio signals.

[0193] Reception of the radio signal by the receiving terminals

[0194] With reference to Figure 5, the method comprises a step of receiving REC the first radio signal S r1 by a plurality of electronic terminals T2...T X . Electronic terminals T2...T X are co-located in the same radio zone G as the first terminal T1. This radio zone G delimits the maximum range at which the first radio signal S r1transmitted by the first terminal T1 can be received by a receiving terminal. More generally, this radio zone G delimits a “communication bubble”, in which the terminals T1...T x can pair to establish group communication.

[0195] Each electronic terminal of the plurality of electronic terminals T2...T X includes for example a REC2 radio communication interface... REC X to receive the first radio signal S r1 . For example, this is a radio antenna.

[0196] The reception step REC includes the detection DTC2 of the first radio signal S r1 by a radio communication interface of each electronic terminal of the plurality of electronic terminals T2...T X .

[0197] The reception step REC includes the baseband demodulation DEM of the first radio signal S r1The baseband resulting from the DEM demodulation includes the first filtered audio signal S1. This demodulation step is implemented, for example, by means of a second MCU computer of the electronic terminals T2...T X .

[0198] The reception step REC includes the decompression DECO of the first filtered audio signal. This step is carried out by a second signal processing chain CTS2 of each of the electronic terminals T2...T X The second signal processing chain CTS2 is implemented, for example, by means of the second MCU computer of the second electronic terminals T2...T X .

[0199] The reception step REC comprises the amplification AMP of the first decompressed audio signal S1. The amplification AMP is carried out by the second signal processing chain CTS2. This amplification step is for example implemented by means of a first DSP computer of the electronic terminals T2...T X. In this case, the first DSP calculator and the second MCU calculator of the electronic terminals T2...T X are for example connected to each other via a wired link allowing data exchange, for example the transmission of the first audio signal S1 filtered and decompressed from the second MCU computer to the first DSP computer. The first DSP computer and the second MCU computer are for example connected via an I2S link.

[0200] The receiving step REC comprises outputting the amplified first audio signal S1 to an audio output 21 of each terminal among the plurality of terminals T2...T X . The audio output 21 is for example connected to the first DSP computer via a wired connection. The audio output 21 comprises for example one or two earphones allowing the restitution of the first audio signal S1 to the ears of a user.

[0201] The steps of demodulation DEM and decompression DECO of the first radio signal S r1 are not implemented when the received signal power value R SSI calculated is less than the threshold value.

[0202] One advantage is to limit the system's power consumption. Indeed, if the power value of the first audio signal S1 is lower than the predetermined threshold, this means, for example, that the transmitted radio signals will be too weak for the encoded audio signals to be audible to a user of a receiving terminal. Thus, if the signal processing chain is not activated in this case, this allows the system to save energy over time.

[0203] According to one embodiment, the reception step REC comprises the automatic transmission EM2 of a communication establishment indicator (I C2 ... L Cx ) of each terminal, among the plurality of terminals T2...T X, to the first terminal T1. This indicator is intended to indicate that communication is well established between each receiving terminal and the first terminal T1. For example, it is an indicator encoded in a data frame, transmitted by the receiving electronic terminals T2...T X to the first electronic terminal T1. The first electronic terminal T1 decodes this data frame, for example, to identify that the connection is established.

[0204] In one embodiment, the step of transmitting the first radio signal S r1 comprises a step of normalizing loudness parameters of the first audio signal S1. The loudness parameters of the first audio signal S1 are, for example, normalized according to a predefined value, for example to achieve a predetermined loudness target value.

[0205] An advantage is to ensure delivery of a constant sound level to a user of the receiving terminal, independently of the ambient noise level at each transmitter and independently of the voice energy level of each user.

[0206] PLC algorithm

[0207] In one embodiment, receiving the first radio signal S r1 by an electronic terminal comprises implementing an algorithm for generating an unreceived or degraded portion of said first radio signal from a received portion of said first radio signal. This algorithm is for example implemented when the electronic terminals communicate with each other in a broadcast communication mode. The first radio signal S r1is for example transmitted in the form of packets, and a portion of signal corresponds for example to a number of packets, for example 1. The algorithm implemented is for example a PLC algorithm, acronym for "Packet loss concealment" in Anglo-Saxon literature. Thus, lost packets are for example regenerated from received packets.

[0208] One advantage is to avoid degradation of the audio signal transmitted to a user of a receiving terminal.

[0209] Hysteresis

[0210] In one embodiment, the method comprises a step of automatically disconnecting at least one electronic terminal T1...T x based on a comparison result of the received signal power value R ssi with a threshold value. This is, for example, a second threshold different from the first threshold.

[0211] According to one example, when the result of an exponential moving average of the powers of a plurality of signals transmitted by the same electronic terminal and received by another electronic terminal over a given period is less than a threshold value, then the electronic terminals are disconnected. The electronic terminals T1...T x are for example disconnected so that the signals emitted by one of the terminals are no longer processed by the other terminal. An advantage is to avoid the reception of degraded radio signals, and to maintain an acceptable level of intelligibility in conversations between users.

[0212] Implementation of the process steps by each terminal

[0213] According to one embodiment, the first terminal T1 is configured to implement the reception step REC of the method.

[0214] According to one embodiment, at least one terminal among the plurality of terminals T2...T Xis configured to implement the EM emission step of the method.

[0215] According to one embodiment, at least one terminal among the plurality of terminals T2...T X is configured to implement the step of calculating a received signal power R SSI and the COMP comparison step of the calculated power with a threshold value.

[0216] According to one embodiment, the first terminal T1 is configured to implement the step of calculating a received signal power R SSI and the COMP comparison step of the calculated power with a threshold value.

[0217] Terminal pairing or non-pairing version

[0218] According to one embodiment, the electronic terminals T1...T x communicate with each other without the implementation of a prior pairing step. The electronic terminals T1...T xcommunicate for example using an IEE 802.15.4 communication protocol.

[0219] According to one embodiment, the method comprises a step of APP pairing between the first terminal T1 and the plurality of terminals T2...T X . This step is prior to the EM transmission step of the method. This pairing step allows the establishment of a radio connection allowing an exchange of data between the first terminal T1 and the plurality of terminals T2...T X .

[0220] The pairing step APP includes the calculation CLC2 of a second received power value RSSI2 of a pairing signal S ap by each terminal among the plurality of terminals T2...T X The pairing signal S ap is for example a radio signal emitted by an electronic terminal T1...T x, to determine the presence of other electronic terminals in the radio zone G, and to establish radio communication with the detected electronic terminals if necessary. The pairing step is for example implemented by means of one of the DSP, MCU calculators of each terminal T2...T X .

[0221] The APP pairing step includes comparing COMP2 the second calculated RSSI2 received power value with a second threshold Z2. The second threshold Z2 is for example different from the first threshold. According to another example, the first threshold and the second threshold Z2 are of equal values.

[0222] The APP pairing step includes the implementation of a second control law L C2 . The second control law LC2 allows us to check whether the second received power value R SSI2 calculated is greater than the second threshold Z2. If this criterion is verified, the second control law L C2for example authorizes the implementation of the EM emission step of the first radio signal S r1 by the first terminal T1. According to one case, if this criterion is not verified, the second control law LC2 blocks the implementation of the emission step EM of the first radio signal S r1 by the first terminal T1.

[0223] An advantage is to reduce the energy consumption of the system, by preventing the implementation of the EM emission step of the method when the communication between the terminals is not optimal, for example when the transmitting terminal and the receiving terminals are too far apart, or when the radio signals are disturbed in the radio transmission channel, preventing good radio reception by the receiving terminals.

[0224] According to one embodiment, the pairing step APP is implemented at the first terminal T1. In this case, the first terminal T1 transmits, for example, the pairing signal Sap to other terminals T2...T X , which in turn emit a signal, in response to the reception of the pairing signal S ap .

[0225] According to one embodiment, the pairing step is implemented at one of the receiving electronic terminals T2...T X . In this case, one of the electronic terminals T2...T x emits the pairing signal S ap , which is received by the first electronic terminal T1 and / or by an electronic terminal of the plurality of electronic terminals T2...T X , which in turn emit a signal, in response to the reception of the pairing signal S ap . According to one embodiment, the first terminal T1 and the plurality of electronic terminals T2...T X communicate with each other without the prior implementation of the APP pairing step.

[0226] According to one embodiment, the APP pairing step of the first terminal T1 with the plurality of terminals T2....T X comprises a step of addressing APP of said plurality of terminals T2...T X by the first terminal T1. The addressing step comprises, for example, the allocation of an IP address to at least one terminal among the plurality of terminals T2...T X .

[0227] Broadcast communication between electronic terminals

[0228] According to one embodiment, the communication interfaces of each electronic terminal T1...T x provide broadcast wireless communications.

[0229] “Communication interfaces” means the transmitters and receivers of radio signals of each of the electronic terminals T1...T x .

[0230] “Broadcast” wireless communications means the transmission of radio signals by electronic terminals T1...T xwithout these radio signals being intended to be received by a specific electronic terminal. In other words, radio signals are emitted by a transmitting electronic terminal, for example the first electronic terminal T1, and are received and decoded by all the electronic terminals sufficiently close to the transmitting electronic terminal. These are, for example, the electronic terminals present in the radio zone G. The radio signals are, for example, only received and decoded by electronic terminals paired with the transmitting terminal.

[0231] Broadcast wireless communications, for example, allow the transmission and reception of datagrams using a user datagram protocol. Such a protocol is also known in English literature as the User Datagram Protocol. In telecommunications, such a protocol is also referred to as the UDP protocol.

[0232] "Datagrams" are defined as a set of data transmitted with its source addresses and destination addresses by a telecommunications network.

[0233] Communication system comprising the electronic terminals According to another aspect, the invention relates to a system comprising the first electronic terminal T1 and the plurality of electronic terminals T2...T X , configured to implement the method of discovering a radio communication network and filtering an audio signal.

[0234] The first terminal T1 comprises for example the first DSP calculator and the second MCU calculator. These two DSP, MCU calculators are for example configured to implement the step of transmitting EM of the first radio signal S r1 of the process.

[0235] Each of the terminals of the plurality of electronic terminals T2...T Xcomprises for example a first DSP calculator and a second MCU calculator. These two DSP, MCU calculators are for example configured to implement the steps REC of receiving the first radio signal S r1 .

[0236] According to one embodiment, at least one electronic terminal among the plurality of electronic terminals T2...T X is configured to implement the step of transmitting EM of the first radio signal S r1 .

[0237] According to one embodiment, the first electronic terminal T1 is configured to implement the step of receiving REC the first radio signal S r1 .

[0238] Thus, in the system of the invention, each of the electronic terminals is, for example, both a transmitter terminal and a receiver terminal. This advantageously allows group communication via an exchange of radio signals S r1 between electronic terminals T1...Tx .

[0239] Communication system between only two electronic terminals

[0240] According to another aspect, the invention relates to a system comprising the first electronic terminal T1 and a second electronic terminal T2, configured to implement the steps of the method for discovering a radio environment and filtering an audio signal. In this case, the first electronic terminal T1 is for example configured to implement the EM transmission step of the method and the second electronic terminal T2 is for example configured to implement the REC reception step of the method. Each of the two electronic terminals T1, T2 comprises for example a first DSP computer and a second MCU computer. The two electronic terminals T1, T2 are for example both configured to implement the EM transmission and REC reception steps of the first radio signal S r1This allows a two-way exchange of information between the two electronic terminals T1, T2, via a wireless radio link.

[0241] Computer program product

[0242] According to another aspect, the invention relates to a computer program product comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the latter to implement the following steps:

[0243] • Detection of data characteristic of a voice in a first audio signal S1 received;

[0244] * Implementation of a first control law L c1, when the characteristic data of a voice is detected in the first audio signal S1, comprising: o Filtering the first audio signal S1; o Compression of the first audio signal S1 by means of an audio codec; o Modulation of the first audio signal S1 to obtain a first radio signal Sri capable of being transmitted within a radio channel by a radio transmitter;

[0245] According to one embodiment, the computer capable of executing the computer program product comprises the first DSP computer and the second MCU computer.

[0246] According to one embodiment, the electronic terminals T1...T x comprise a housing. The housing comprises, for example, the first DSP computer and the second MCU computer and means for transmitting and receiving radio signals. The housing is, for example, connected wired or wirelessly to a user's earphones to enable the delivery of an audio signal.

[0247] According to one embodiment, at least one electronic terminal T1...T x includes a microphone integrated into the housing. According to one embodiment, the computer program product includes instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the latter to implement a calculation of a received power, to compare the received power value with a threshold value and to authorize the implementation of the transmission step EM or reception step REC of the method only when said received power value is greater than or equal to the threshold value.

[0248] In summary, the invention relates to a method for discovering a radio communication network and filtering an audio signal, an associated system, and an associated computer program product. The invention advantageously allows intelligible communication between several interlocutors co-located in the same radio zone. The invention advantageously makes it possible to maintain a good level of intelligibility of conversations regardless of the surrounding noise level.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A method for discovering a radio communication network and filtering an audio signal (S1), said method enabling group communication between a plurality of electronic terminals (T1...T x ) co-located in a radio zone (G), each electronic terminal (T1...T x ) comprising at least one communication interface for transmitting and receiving radio signals, the method comprising: · Transmission (EM) of a first radio signal (S r1 ) by a first electronic terminal (T1) comprising: o Acquisition (A1) of the first audio signal (S1) by a microphone (10); o Detection (DTC1) of a characteristic voice data in the first audio signal (S1) by implementing a first signal processing function; o Implementation of a first control law (L C1) to implement the following steps when the characteristic data of a voice has been detected in the first audio signal (S1); i. Filtering, encoding including a compression step and modulation, by a signal processing chain (CTS1), of said first acquired audio signal (S1), to obtain the first radio signal (S r1 ) capable of being transmitted within a radio channel; ii. Transmission of the first radio signal (S r1 ) by means of a radio transmitter (EM1) and via a wireless link; • Reception (REC) of said first radio signal (S r1 ) by a plurality of electronic terminals (T2...T X ), including: o Detection (DTC2) of the first radio signal (S r1 ) via a radio communication interface for each terminal among the plurality of electronic terminals (T2...T X ) ; o Calculation (CLC1) of a received signal power value (RSSI) and comparison (COMP1) of said received signal power value (R SSI ) calculated with a first threshold; o Implementation of the following steps when said signal power value received (R SSI ) is greater than said first threshold: i. Baseband Demodulation (DEM) comprising the first audio signal (S1) filtered from said first radio signal (S r1 ); ii. Decompression (DECO) and amplification (AMP), by a second signal processing chain (CTS2), of said first filtered audio signal (S1), iii. Output (DEL) of the first decompressed and amplified audio signal (S1) to an audio output (21) of each terminal among the plurality of electronic terminals (T2...T X 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the received signal power value (R ssi) includes a communication quality indicator, and in which the calculation of said received signal power value (R ssi ) includes calculating an exponential moving average of power values ​​from a plurality of first radio signals (S r1 ) emitted by the first terminal (T1).

3. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the signal processing function for detecting the characteristic data of a voice is implemented automatically in response to the acquisition (ACQ1) of the first audio signal (S1) by the microphone.

4. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising: · acquisition of a second audio signal (S2) of ambient noise using a microphone; • calculation of a first energy level (E1) of the first audio signal (S1) and a second energy level (E2) of the second audio signal (S2) using the first computer (DSP); • Automatic setting of a voice detection threshold (S v ) depending on the energy level of the second calculated audio signal (S2); · comparison of the first energy level (E1) with said voice detection threshold (S v ), the first control law (L1) being implemented when the first energy level (E1) is greater than the voice detection threshold (S v 5. A method according to claim 4, comprising: · acquisition of a plurality of second audio signals (S2) using a microphone for a first duration; • calculation of an average energy level of the second audio signals (S2) using the first computer (DSP); • Automatic setting of the voice detection threshold (S v) depending on the average energy level calculated using the first computer (DSP).

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the average energy level of the second audio signals (S2) is automatically and periodically recalculated, the voice detection threshold (S v ) being automatically recalculated with each new calculation of said average energy level of the second signals (S2).

7. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the detection (DTC1) of the characteristic data of a voice in the first audio signal (S1) comprises comparing the first energy level (E1) with the voice detection threshold (S v ), the characteristic data of a voice being detected when the first energy level (E1) is greater than the voice detection threshold (S v ).

8. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the step of emitting the first radio signal (S r1) includes a step of normalizing the sound intensity parameters of the first audio signal (S1) as a function of a configurable threshold.

9. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the step of receiving the first radio signal (S r1 ) includes a step of identifying the first electronic terminal (T1) by the receiving terminal, said identification comprising a comparison of a sequence of parameters of the first radio signal (S r1 ) with predefined parameters to allow or block reception of the first radio signal (S r1 10. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the step of emitting the first radio signal (S r1 ) includes a real-time comparison of a number of transmitters within a radio channel with a threshold value, the first control law (L c1) being implemented only when said number of transmitters is less than said threshold value.

11. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the reception of the first radio signal (S r1 ) includes the implementation of an algorithm to generate an unreceived or degraded portion of said first radio signal (S r1 ) from a received portion of said first radio signal (S r1 12. A discovery and filtering method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the communication interface of each electronic terminal (T1...T x ) enables wireless communications broadcast to other terminals, and allows transmission and reception by each electronic terminal (T1...T x ), of datagrams following a User Datagram Protocol (UDP).

13. Communication system comprising a plurality of electronic terminals (T1...T x) able to communicate with each other when said plurality of electronic terminals (T1...T x ) is co-located in the same radio zone (G), each electronic terminal (T1...T x ) including: • A microphone (10) to acquire a first audio signal (S1); • A radio transmitter (EM1) to: o Emit a first radio signal (S r1 ) within a radio channel; • A radio receiver (REC2) to receive a radio signal including a data frame encoding an audio signal; • A first computer (DSP) to execute a first signal processing chain (CTS1) configured to implement: o A processing step of the first audio signal (S1) acquired by the microphone (10) comprising: i. detection of a characteristic voice data in the first local audio signal (S1) by means of a signal processing function (FT1); ii. implementation of a first control law (LC1 ) when the characteristic data of a voice has been detected in the first local audio signal (S1), including filtering the first audio signal (S1) to obtain a filtered first audio signal (S1); • A second computer (MCU) to implement: o Upstream of the transmission of the first radio signal (S r1 ): i. reception of the first filtered audio signal (S1); ii. encoding including compression and modulation of the first filtered audio signal (S1) to obtain the first radio signal (Sr1) suitable for transmission within a radio channel; o Upon reception of a radio signal: i. calculation of a power value of a received radio signal (R SSI ) and comparison of said power value of the received radio signal (R SSI ) calculated with a first threshold and, when said value of power of the received radio signal (R SSI) is greater than the first threshold: a. Baseband demodulation of the received radio signal to obtain an audio signal; b. Decompression of said audio signal; c. Delivery of the decompressed audio signal to the first digital signal processor (DSP), which amplifies said decompressed audio signal and delivers said decompressed and amplified audio signal to an audio output (21) of the terminal.

14. Communication system according to claim 13, wherein the second microcontroller (MCU) is configured to implement a control law comprising: o generation of a radio signal reception authorization command when the received signal power value (R) SSI ) calculated is greater than or equal to the first threshold, o generation of a command to block radio signal reception when the received signal power value (R SSI ) calculated is less than the first threshold.

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