Information processing method and information processing device

Abstract

To provide an information processing method for preventing occurrence of howling regardless of the number of installed loudspeakers, and an information processing device.SOLUTION: In a configuration including a loudspeaker, a compact beacon terminal, a wireless microphone and a data processing device, an information processing method executed by a CPU of the data processing device includes: identifying a position of the microphone which collects voices of a speaker; identifying a position of the loudspeaker outputting audio signals collected by the microphone; determining whether a condition of occurrence of howling is fulfilled based on a relation between the position of the microphone and the position of the loudspeaker; and outputting a determination result.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing method and an information processing device that prevent the occurrence of howling. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a loudspeaker system that identifies the position of a microphone from a camera image and controls the volume of the loudspeaker in accordance with the distance between the identified microphone and a speaker.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a sound amplification system having a microphone position identification unit that identifies the position of an infrared microphone by recognizing the portion of a camera image captured by a camera that captures infrared light, a microphone-speaker distance calculation unit that calculates the microphone-speaker distance between the identified infrared microphone position and a speaker installed at a specified position, and an audio gain control unit that controls the sound amplification volume while referring to an audio gain memory according to the microphone-speaker distance. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2011-087218 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the public address system described in Patent Document 1, only the infrared microphone can be identified from the camera image, and in order to calculate the distance between the microphone and the speaker, it was necessary to install the speaker in a predetermined position in advance. Also, the public address system described in Patent Document 1 does not assume a public address space in which multiple speakers are installed, and there was a problem in that the number of speakers installed was limited to one.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing method capable of preventing the occurrence of howling, regardless of the number of installed speakers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The information processing method includes identifying a position of a microphone that picks up the speaker's voice; Identifying the position of a speaker that outputs the audio signal picked up by the microphone; determining whether or not a condition for the occurrence of feedback is satisfied based on a relationship between the position of the microphone and the position of the speaker; The judgment result is output. Effect of the Invention

[0008] The information processing method of the present invention has an effect of preventing the occurrence of howling, regardless of the number of speakers. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chamber 1 that constitutes a space in the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the small beacon terminal 12 and the fixed beacon 15 according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the speaker 11, the small beacon terminal 12, the wireless microphone 13, and the data processing device 14 of the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a program executed by the CPU 141 of the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a room 1, illustrating a method for determining the positions of the small beacon terminal 12 and the speaker 11 according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configurations of the speaker 11, the wireless microphone 13, and the data processing device 14 of the first embodiment. [Figure 7]FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation executed by the CPU 141 in the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation executed by the CPU 141 in the first embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a chamber 1a that constitutes a space according to the first modification. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of the monitor 16 according to the first modification. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation executed by the CPU 141 according to the second modification. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation executed by the CPU 141 according to the third modification. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an acoustic space setting GUI according to the fourth modification. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same reference numerals are used for the same parts. From Modification 1 onwards, a description of matters common to the first embodiment will be omitted, and only the differences will be described. In particular, similar actions and effects due to similar configurations will not be mentioned in each embodiment.

[0011] First Embodiment 1 is a perspective view of a room 1 constituting a space of a first embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, the room 1 is assumed to be, for example, a studio in a training gym, but the room 1 is not limited to this. In reality, the room 1 may be a hall, a conference room, a lecture room, etc.

[0012] The room 1 is equipped with speakers 11 (11A, 11B), a data processing device 14, and fixed beacons 15 (15A, 15B, 15C). The speaker 11 is connected to the data processing device 14. The fixed beacons 15 are beacons fixed to immovable objects such as walls, ceilings, floors, and pillars of the room 1. The number of fixed beacons 15 does not have to be three, and may be freely changed depending on the size and structure of the loudspeaker space. The fixed beacons 15 do not have to be independent, and instead, a wireless LAN access point (AP) that outputs a beacon signal may be used. The number of speakers 11 does not have to be two, and may be one, or three or more.

[0013] In the first embodiment, the user wears a wireless microphone 13 and moves freely in the room 1. The user also carries a small beacon terminal 12. The small beacon terminal 12 may be, for example, a smartphone. In this embodiment, the position coordinates of the speaker 11A, the speaker 11B, the small beacon terminal 12, the fixed beacon 15A, the fixed beacon 15B, and the fixed beacon 15C are represented as P1 (X1, Y1), P2 (X2, Y2), P3 (X3, Y3), P4 (X4, Y4), P5 (X5, Y5), and P6 (X6, Y6), respectively.

[0014] In this embodiment, as described above, the user carries both the small beacon terminal 12 and the wireless microphone 13. Therefore, the position of the small beacon terminal 12 can be considered to be equal to the position of the wireless microphone 13.

[0015] The wireless microphone 13 acquires an audio signal including the user's voice. The wireless microphone 13 converts the acquired audio signal into a digital signal. The wireless microphone 13 outputs the digitally converted audio signal to the data processing device 14. The small beacon terminal 12 does not need to be an independent configuration, and may be built into the wireless microphone 13 to be worn by the user and to be located.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the small beacon terminal 12 and the fixed beacon 15 according to the first embodiment.

[0017] The small beacon terminal 12 includes a memory 121, a control unit 122, a communication unit 123, and a BT (Bluetooth (registered trademark)) communication unit 124. The control unit 122 is connected to the memory 121, the communication unit 123, and the BT communication unit 124.

[0018] The memory 121 stores a program for operating the small beacon terminal 12. The control unit 122 reads out the program stored in the memory 121 and controls the operation of the small beacon terminal 12. However, the program does not need to be stored in the memory 121. The control unit 122 may download the program each time from, for example, a server or the like.

[0019] The fixed beacon 15 transmits a beacon signal conforming to BLE (Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy). The BT communication unit 124 receives the beacon signal conforming to BLE from the fixed beacon 15. The beacon signal includes a device identification ID of the fixed beacon 15. The memory 121 records the device identification ID and the received radio wave intensity of the beacon signal.

[0020] The communication unit 123 communicates with the data processing device 14 by wire or wirelessly. In the communication unit 123, the BT communication unit 124 transmits to the data processing device 14 the device identification ID and the radio wave reception strength of the beacon signal received from the fixed beacon 15.

[0021] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the speaker 11, the small beacon terminal 12, the wireless microphone 13, and the data processing device 14 of the first embodiment.

[0022] The wireless microphone 13 picks up the sound signal output by the speaker 11. The sound signal may be superimposed with a device identification ID of the speaker 11. The wireless microphone 13 outputs the device identification ID and the sound signal to the data processing device 14.

[0023] The data processing device 14 includes a CPU 141 , a RAM 142 , a memory 143 , a user interface (I / F) 144 , an audio I / O 145 , and a communication I / F 146 .

[0024] The memory 143 stores a program for operating the data processing device 14. The CPU 141 reads the program stored in the memory 143 into the RAM 142 and controls the operation of the data processing device 14. However, the program does not need to be stored in the memory 143. The CPU 141 may download the program each time, for example, from a server or the like.

[0025] 4 is a block diagram showing a program executed by CPU 141 in the first embodiment. The program executed by CPU 141 is composed of microphone position identification unit 1401, speaker position identification unit 1402, and distance calculation unit 1403. Microphone position identification unit 1401, speaker position identification unit 1402, and distance calculation unit 1403 are software functions realized by the program.

[0026] The microphone position identifying unit 1401 receives the device identification ID and information on the received radio wave intensity from the small beacon terminal 12, and identifies the position of the small beacon terminal 12. In other words, it identifies the position of the wireless microphone 13. The speaker position identifying unit 1402 receives the device identification ID and information on the sound signal from the wireless microphone 13, and identifies the position of the speaker 11. The memory 143 stores the identified position information of the small beacon terminal 12 and the speaker 11.

[0027] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a room 1, illustrating a method for determining the positions of the small beacon terminal 12 and the speaker 11 according to the first embodiment.

[0028] The strength of the radio wave received by the small beacon terminal 12 from the fixed beacon 15 is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the small beacon terminal 12 and the fixed beacon 15. The microphone position identification unit 1401 converts the information of the strength of the radio wave received into distances D1, D2, and D3 between the fixed beacons 15A, 15B, and 15C and the small beacon terminal 12. In this embodiment, the position coordinates (P4 (X4, Y4), P5 (X5, Y5), and P6 (X6, Y6)) of the fixed beacons 15A, 15B, and 15C are known, so the position coordinates P3 (X3, Y3) of the small beacon terminal 12 are obtained from the intersection of the distances D1, D2, and D3. Here, the lower left point of the perspective view of the room 1 is set as the coordinates (0, 0).

[0029] The amplitude of the sound signal received by the wireless microphone 13 from the speaker 11 is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the wireless microphone 13 and the speaker 11. The speaker position identification unit 1402 converts the information of the sound signal into distances d1 and d2 between the speakers 11A and 11B and the small beacon terminal 12 (wireless microphone 13). As described above, the position coordinates P3 (X3, Y3) of the small beacon terminal 12 are identified by the microphone position identification unit 1401. Therefore, by the wireless microphone 13 receiving sound signals from the speakers 11A and 11B at three or more different points, the positions of the speakers 11A and 11B are uniquely determined, and the position coordinates P1 (X1, Y1) and P2 (X2, Y2) of the speakers 11A and 11B are obtained.

[0030] This enables the data processing device 14 to constantly manage the position coordinates of the speaker 11 and the wireless microphone 13.

[0031] The speaker position identifying unit 1402 may manually receive the position coordinates of the speaker 11 from the system user in the data processing device 14, or may identify the position coordinates of the speaker 11 by using a beacon signal.

[0032] The distance calculation unit 1403 calculates the distance between the small beacon terminal 12 and the speaker 11 (between the wireless microphone 13 and the speaker 11) based on the position information of the small beacon terminal 12 (wireless microphone 13) and the speaker 11 identified by the microphone position identification unit 1401 and the speaker position identification unit 1402, respectively.

[0033] The user I / F 144 accepts operations from a user. For example, a user of this system can arbitrarily select a speaker 11 from which he or she wishes to output an audio signal among a plurality of speakers installed in the room 1. In this case, the CPU 141 causes the speaker position identification unit 1402 to identify the position of the selected speaker 11.

[0034] The communication I / F 146 is connected to the communication unit 123 wirelessly or via wire.

[0035] 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the speaker 11, the wireless microphone 13, and the data processing device 14 according to the first embodiment. The speaker 11 and the wireless microphone 13 are connected to the data processing device 14 via an audio I / O 145. The memory 143 also stores a volume control program 147 for causing the CPU 141 to execute a volume control process.

[0036] The CPU 141 performs volume control processing on the audio signal received from the wireless microphone 13. The CPU 141 outputs the audio signal that has been subjected to the volume control processing to the audio I / O 145.

[0037] The audio I / O 145 outputs the audio signal that has been subjected to volume control processing by the CPU 141 to the speaker 11. When the input audio signal is a digital signal, the speaker 11 performs D / A conversion before emitting the audio signal.

[0038] 7 and 8 are flowcharts showing the operation executed by the CPU 141 in the first embodiment. These flowcharts show the operation of determining whether or not the relationship between the position of the wireless microphone 13 and the position of the speaker 11 satisfies the condition for the occurrence of howling.

[0039] First, the microphone position identification unit 1401 identifies the position of the wireless microphone 13 (S11). Next, the speaker position identification unit 1402 identifies the position of the speaker 11 (S12). Next, the CPU 141 determines whether or not the condition for the occurrence of howling is satisfied based on the relationship between the position of the wireless microphone 13 and the position of the speaker 11 (S13). For example, the CPU 141 determines whether or not the distance between the wireless microphone 13 and the speaker 11 calculated by the distance calculation unit 1403 is equal to or less than a predetermined value. If the result of the determination is NO, that is, if it is determined that the condition for the occurrence of howling is not satisfied (S13: NO), the operation ends (END). If the result of the determination is YES, that is, if it is determined that the condition for the occurrence of howling is satisfied (S13: YES), the CPU 141 outputs the determination result to the small beacon terminal 12 via the communication I / F 146 (S14).

[0040] Instead of outputting the judgment result, the CPU 141 may issue a warning to the user. In this case, as shown in Fig. 8, when the CPU 141 judges that the condition for the occurrence of howling is satisfied (S13: YES), it outputs a warning signal to the small beacon terminal 12 (S15).

[0041] When the small beacon terminal 12 receives a warning signal, it warns the user by vibration or warning sound. The warning sound may be, for example, a buzzer sound or a voice such as "Howling is likely to occur." The small beacon terminal 12 may also visually warn the user. In this case, the small beacon terminal 12 may visually warn the user by an LED, or may be provided with a display unit (not shown) such as an LCD. For example, the small beacon terminal 12 displays text information such as "Howling is likely to occur" on the display unit.

[0042] Furthermore, the small beacon terminal 12 may output a voice message such as "Please move away from the speaker" as a warning, or may display text information such as "Please move away from the speaker" on the display unit.

[0043] This allows a user wearing the wireless microphone 13 to receive the warning and move away from the speaker 11, thereby providing a new customer experience in which feedback can be prevented before it occurs.

[0044] Variation 1 Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing a schematic diagram of a room 1a constituting a space according to the first modification. The same components as those in Fig. 1 are given the same reference numerals and will not be described. The room 1a differs from the room 1 in that it is provided with a monitor 16 and a camera (not shown). Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of the monitor 16 according to the first modification.

[0045] In the first modification, a camera is attached to the ceiling and captures the room 1a. As shown in FIG. 10, the monitor 16 displays the image captured by the camera. Furthermore, the CPU 141 may cause the monitor 16 to display an area where feedback is likely to occur based on the position information of the speaker 11 identified by the speaker position identification unit 1402. For example, in this case, the monitor 16 may display the area as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 10. This allows the user to visually recognize the area where feedback will occur, and by avoiding entering the area, the occurrence of feedback can be prevented.

[0046] Furthermore, the CPU 141 may display a warning on the monitor 16 when it has determined that the distance between the speaker 11 and the small beacon terminal 12 is equal to or less than a predetermined value (S13: YES).

[0047] Variation 2 Next, a second modification will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation executed by the CPU 141 according to the second modification. The processing of steps S11, S12, S13, and S15 in FIG. 11 is the same as the processing of steps S11, S12, S13, and S15 in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, and therefore the description will be omitted. In the second modification, the memory 143 further stores past position information of the small beacon terminal 12 identified by the microphone position identification unit 1401. In addition, the program executed by the CPU 141 further includes a behavior pattern analysis unit (not shown). The behavior pattern analysis unit is a software function realized by the program.

[0048] The behavior pattern analysis unit analyzes the behavior pattern of the user based on the past position information of the small beacon terminal 12 stored in the memory 143. The memory 143 stores the analyzed behavior pattern.

[0049] The behavior pattern analysis unit detects the howling occurrence prediction value, for example, by using a trained model that trains the relationship between the location information and the howling occurrence prediction value. Alternatively, the behavior pattern analysis unit detects the howling occurrence prediction value by referring to a table or function that defines the relationship between the location information and the howling occurrence prediction value.

[0050] As shown in Fig. 11, when the CPU 141 judges that the condition for howling is not satisfied (S13: NO), it inputs the current position information of the small beacon terminal 12 into the trained model or function and judges whether or not the condition for howling is expected to be satisfied (S16). When the judgment result is NO, that is, when it is judged that the condition is not expected to be satisfied (S16: NO), the CPU 141 ends the operation (END). When the judgment result is YES, that is, when it is judged that the condition is likely to be satisfied (S16: YES), the CPU 141 transmits a warning signal to the small beacon terminal 12 via the communication I / F 146 (S15).

[0051] Variation 3 Next, a third modification will be described. In the third modification, the program executed by the CPU 141 further includes a level control section (not shown). The level control section is a software function realized by the program. The level control section adjusts the audio signal collected by the wireless microphone 13 to an appropriate level and outputs the adjusted level to the audio I / O 145.

[0052] Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation executed by the CPU 141 according to the modified example 3. The processes of steps S11, S12, S13, S15, and S16 in Fig. 12 are the same as the processes of steps S11, S12, S13, S15, and S16 in Fig. 7, Fig. 8, and Fig. 11, and therefore description thereof will be omitted. When it is predicted that the condition for the occurrence of howling is satisfied (S16: YES), the CPU 141 performs a volume control process on the audio signal received from the wireless microphone 13 (S17).

[0053] If it is predicted that the condition for causing feedback is met (S16: YES), the level control section performs an adjustment to decrease the gain of the audio signal.

[0054] In addition, it is not essential that the level control unit adjusts the gain in Modification 3. The level control unit may be configured to prevent the occurrence of howling by controlling the amplitude characteristics of the audio signal or the frequency characteristics of the audio signal, instead of adjusting the gain.

[0055] Variation 4 FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an acoustic space setting GUI according to the fourth modification. A user sets an acoustic space via an acoustic space interface 101. For example, a user sets an acoustic space by inputting the width, depth, and ceiling height of a room, the position of a sound source (user), and the position of a noise source (air conditioner, indoor fan, etc.) to the acoustic space interface 101. The CPU 141 calculates the arrangement distribution of speakers and microphones based on a predetermined model based on the positions of the accepted sound source and noise source in the accepted acoustic space. The arrangement distribution of microphones includes information on the positions of microphones of what model and with what input characteristics are to be arranged. The arrangement distribution of speakers includes information on the positions of speakers of what model and with what output characteristics are to be arranged. The CPU 141 obtains the arrangement distribution of microphones using a mathematical model or a trained model. The trained model is a model in which the relationship between the positions of the sound source, the positions of the noise source, the arrangement distribution of speakers, and the arrangement distribution of microphones is trained using a DNN (Deep Neural Network).

[0056] The CPU 141 displays the calculated layout distribution of the speakers and microphones as a result output screen as shown in Fig. 13. The CPU 141 displays the calculated layout distribution of the speakers and microphones within the set acoustic space.

[0057] This allows users to easily know what types of speakers and microphones they should install and how many of them should be installed in what locations, in order to create a new customer experience.

[0058] Furthermore, the CPU 141 detects the howling occurrence prediction value by using a trained model that trains the relationship between the location information and the howling occurrence prediction value, for example. Alternatively, the behavior pattern analysis unit detects the howling occurrence prediction value by referring to a table or function that defines the relationship between the location information and the howling occurrence prediction value.

[0059] The CPU 141 displays an image based on the detected feedback occurrence prediction value on a display unit. For example, as shown in Fig. 13, the CPU 141 displays a hatched circle at a position where the feedback occurrence prediction value is high.

[0060] This allows the user to easily find out at what positions feedback is likely to occur in the speaker and microphone settings they have set, providing a new customer experience.

[0061] Finally, the description of the present embodiment should be considered to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims, not by the above-described embodiments. Furthermore, the scope of the present invention is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0062] 1, 1a: room, 11, 11A, 11B: speaker, 12: small beacon terminal, 13: wireless microphone, 14: data processing device, 15, 15A, 15B, 15C: fixed beacon, 16: monitor, 101: acoustic space interface, 121, 143: memory, 122: control unit, 123: communication unit, 124: BT communication unit, 141: CPU, 142: RAM, 144: user I / F, 145: audio I / O, 146: communication I / F, 147: volume control program, 1401: microphone position identification unit, 1402: speaker position identification unit, 1403: distance calculation unit

Claims

1. Identify the position of the microphone that picks up the speaker's voice, Identifying the position of a speaker that outputs the audio signal picked up by the microphone; determining whether or not a condition for the occurrence of feedback is satisfied based on a relationship between the position of the microphone and the position of the speaker; Output the judgment result. Information processing methods.

2. Identifying the position of a speaker that outputs the audio signal picked up by the microphone among a plurality of speakers; The information processing method according to claim 1 .

3. If the determination result satisfies the condition, a warning is given to the speaker. The information processing method according to claim 1 .

4. Displaying the positions of the microphone and the speaker on a screen; The information processing method according to claim 1 .

5. If the determination result satisfies the condition, a warning is displayed on the screen. The information processing method according to claim 4.

6. If it is predicted that the condition is satisfied based on the behavior pattern of the speaker and the position information of the microphone and the speaker, alerting the speaker; The information processing method according to claim 1 .

7. When it is predicted that the condition is satisfied, an output level of the audio signal picked up by the microphone is adjusted. The information processing method according to claim 1 .

8. Adjusting the output level of the audio signal reducing a gain of the audio signal; adjusting an amplitude characteristic of the audio signal; adjusting a frequency characteristic of the audio signal; Contains any of the following: The information processing method according to claim 7.

9. A microphone for picking up the speaker's voice; A first wireless communication device installed at a predetermined position in the loudspeaker space; a second wireless communication device attached to the microphone and wirelessly communicating with the first wireless communication device; a speaker that performs wireless communication with the first wireless communication device and outputs an audio signal collected by the microphone; A microphone position identification unit that identifies the position of the microphone; a speaker position identifying unit that identifies a position of the speaker; a processing unit that determines whether or not a condition for the occurrence of feedback is satisfied based on the identified position information of the microphone and the speaker; An information processing device comprising:

10. the speaker position identifying unit identifies a position of a speaker that outputs an audio signal collected by the microphone, among the plurality of speakers; The information processing device according to claim 9.

11. When it is determined that the condition for the occurrence of howling is satisfied, the processing unit transmits a warning signal to the second wireless communication device. The information processing device according to claim 9.

12. Further, a monitor is provided for displaying the positions of the microphone and the speaker on a screen. The information processing device according to claim 9.

13. When it is determined that the condition for the occurrence of howling is satisfied, the processing unit displays a warning on the screen of the monitor. The information processing device according to claim 12.

14. the processing unit transmits a warning signal to the second wireless communication device when it is predicted that a condition for the occurrence of the howling will be satisfied based on a behavior pattern of the speaker and position information of the microphone and the speaker. The information processing device according to claim 9.

15. A level control unit is further provided, the level control unit adjusts an output level of the audio signal picked up by the microphone when it is predicted that the condition for the occurrence of howling will be satisfied. The information processing device according to claim 9.

16. When it is predicted that the condition for generating the howling is satisfied, the level control unit: reducing the gain of the audio signal; Adjusting the amplitude characteristics of the audio signal; adjusting the frequency characteristics of the audio signal; The output level of the audio signal is adjusted by any one of the methods described above. The information processing device according to claim 15.

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