Sound adjustment device, sound adjustment method, and storage medium

Abstract

A sound adjustment device 1 comprises: a sound environment measurement unit 111 that uses a local device which exists in a local area LA where a user is present to measure a sound environment of the local area LA; and a sound adjustment unit 12 that adjusts, in accordance with the sound environment, a sound to be output by a speaker SP which exists in the local area LA. The user is a player P of a game, and the sound adjustment unit 12 adjusts, in accordance with the sound environment, a sound of the game to be output by the speaker SP. The local device is a remote controller R that is used when the player P plays a game.

Description

Sound adjustment device, sound adjustment method, and storage medium

[0001] The present disclosure relates to techniques for adjusting the sound provided to a user.

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a method for effectively utilizing sound to enhance the dramatic effects in racing games. Various sound data, such as dramatic sounds and sound effects, are prepared in advance, and appropriate sound data is selected according to the progress of the racing game and output from a speaker.

[0003] JP 2009-213828 A

[0004] The sounds that a game player actually hears can be affected by the acoustic environment of the room the player is in. For this reason, the game sounds output from the speakers may not be appropriate for the player.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in light of these circumstances, and aims to provide a sound adjustment device and the like that can reproduce a sound that is appropriate for the user.

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, a sound adjustment device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a sound environment measurement unit that measures the sound environment of a local area where a user is located using a local device present in the local area, and a sound adjustment unit that adjusts the sound to be output from an audio output device present in the local area according to the sound environment.

[0007] According to this aspect, the sound provided to the user from the audio output device can be appropriately adjusted according to the measurement results of the sound environment in the local area where the user is located.

[0008] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a sound adjustment method that includes measuring a sound environment in a local area where a user is located by a local device present in the local area, and adjusting a sound output from an audio output device present in the local area according to the sound environment.

[0009] Yet another aspect of the present disclosure is a storage medium that stores a sound adjustment program that causes a computer to measure a sound environment in a local area where a user is located using a local device present in the local area, and adjust a sound output from an audio output device present in the local area according to the sound environment.

[0010] Any combination of the above components, or any conversion of these expressions into methods, devices, systems, recording media, computer programs, etc., are also encompassed within the present disclosure.

[0011] FIG. 2 is a schematic functional block diagram of a sound adjustment device.

[0012] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, a detailed description of embodiments of the present disclosure (hereinafter also referred to as "embodiments") will be given. In the description and / or drawings, identical or equivalent components, members, processes, etc. will be designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted. The scale and shape of each part shown in the drawings are set for convenience to simplify the description and should not be interpreted as limiting unless otherwise specified. The embodiments are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. Not all features and combinations thereof presented in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the present disclosure. For convenience, the embodiments are presented broken down into components for each function and / or functional group that realizes the features. However, one component in an embodiment may actually be realized by a combination of multiple separate components, or multiple components in an embodiment may actually be realized by a single integrated component. Furthermore, although multiple embodiments and variants may be disclosed in parallel, any components of each embodiment and / or each variant may be combined in any manner as long as they do not interfere with each other's functions.

[0013] In this embodiment, sound adjustment or customization in a game or computer game is exemplified in detail. However, the sound adjustment device according to the present disclosure is equally applicable to sound adjustment in entertainment content other than games, such as movies and music. Furthermore, the sound adjustment device according to the present disclosure is not limited to entertainment content, but is also useful in any other application in which output sound is adjusted or customized according to the acoustic environment of the user's local area (e.g., adjusting output sound in the distribution of online advertisements, news, articles, etc.).

[0014] FIG. 1 is a schematic functional block diagram of a sound adjustment device 1 according to one embodiment. The sound adjustment device 1 includes a local area situation assessment unit 11 and a sound adjustment unit 12. Some of these functional blocks may be omitted as long as the sound adjustment device 1 can achieve at least some of the actions and / or effects described below. These functional blocks are realized through the cooperation of hardware resources, such as a computer's central processing unit, memory, input devices, output devices, and peripheral devices connected to the computer, and software executed using these resources. Regardless of the type of computer or its location, each of the above functional blocks may be realized by the hardware resources of a single computer or by combining hardware resources distributed across multiple computers.

[0015] The functions of the components in the sound adjusting device 1 may be realized by circuitry or processing circuitry, including a general-purpose processor, an application-specific processor, an integrated circuit, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), conventional circuitry, and / or a combination thereof, configured or programmed to implement the functions described herein. A processor is understood to mean circuitry or processing circuitry including transistors and other circuit elements. A processor may also be a programmed processor that executes a program stored in a memory.

[0016] The circuits, units, and means herein are hardware that is programmed or configured to perform the described functions, which may be any hardware disclosed herein or known hardware that is programmed or configured to perform the described functions.

[0017] If the hardware is a processor that is interpreted as a type of circuitry, the circuitry, means, or unit may be a combination of hardware and software used to configure the hardware and / or processor.

[0018] The sound adjustment device 1 according to the present embodiment adjusts or customizes the sound provided to a game player P as a user in accordance with the acoustic environment and other conditions of the local area LA, which will be described later.

[0019] A player P plays a game through a remote controller R capable of communicating in real time with a game machine C and a game server (not shown). Game images are displayed on a television or the like, and game audio or sound is reproduced by a speaker SP or the like. The speaker SP may be integrated into the television or the like. Game audio also includes voices, such as voice chat, of one or more participants (which may include the player P himself) taking part in the game, which are reproduced for the player P by the speaker SP or the like.

[0020] The game machine C, either alone or in cooperation with a game server, provides at least a portion of the game played by the player P. The game machine C may provide the game by executing game software stored on a removable storage medium such as an optical disc, cartridge, or memory, or by executing game software downloaded to its built-in main body storage via a network, or may provide the game in approximately real time from a game server connected via a network. Note that, instead of a dedicated game machine C, general-purpose electronic devices such as personal computers, tablets, and smartphones may also be used for games, but in the context of this disclosure, these general-purpose electronic devices are also considered to be game machines as long as they are used for games.

[0021] The game machine C according to this embodiment is present in the same local area LA (schematically illustrated as a rectangular parallelepiped space in FIG. 1 ) as the player P of the game. For example, the game machine C may be present in substantially the same place, room, building (which may be a different room or floor), facility, or site (which may be a different building) as the player P. Furthermore, the game machine C may be present on (or connected to) a local network such as a local area network (LAN) to which the player P can connect using his or her smartphone, remote controller R, or the like.

[0022] As described above, the "local" game machine C may be interpreted as the opposite concept to a "remote" game server, which typically exists in a location remote from the player P (or on a different LAN). The "local" game machine C is spatially close to the player P and has a small time delay, and therefore has the advantage of being able to quickly execute processing tailored to the player P (e.g., customization and personalization). In view of these characteristics, it is preferable that all or part of the functional blocks in the sound adjustment device 1 according to this embodiment (preferably both the local area situation assessment unit 11 and the sound adjustment unit 12, which will be described later) be provided in the "local" game machine C. Note that functional blocks in the sound adjustment device 1 that are not provided in the "local" game machine C may be provided in the "remote" game server.

[0023] In this embodiment, the speaker SP as an audio output device is also present in the same local area LA as the player P of the game. Thus, in this example embodiment, the player P (and the remote controller R), the game console C, and the speaker SP (and / or the television TV) are substantially present in the same local area LA. As will be described later, the main purpose of this embodiment is to adjust the sound that the speaker SP provides to the player P, so it is preferable that at least the speaker SP be present in the same local area LA as the player P (for example, in the same room or section). On the other hand, for example, the game console C does not have to be present in the same local area LA as the player P (that is, it may be present in a different room or section, etc.).

[0024] The local area situation ascertaining unit 11 ascertains various situations in the local area LA. Specifically, the local area situation ascertaining unit 11 includes at least one of a sound environment measuring unit 111, a relative positional relationship recognizing unit 112, and a sound transmission delay detecting unit 113, all or part of which are preferably realized by the local game machine C.

[0025] The sound environment measurement unit 111 measures the sound environment of a local area LA where a player P as a user is located, using a local device that exists in the local area LA (or that has the local area LA as a measurement target).

[0026] In this embodiment, the sound environment refers to the characteristics and state of the local area LA that affect the game sounds that are output from the speaker SP as an audio output device and heard by the player P. For example, the sound environment includes the acoustic characteristics of the local area LA and noise within the local area LA.

[0027] The acoustic characteristics of a local area LA (e.g., the room where player P is playing the game) are determined by the walls, ceiling, and floor of the local area LA itself, as well as objects such as furniture and people present within the local area LA, and describe or explain sound-related phenomena such as reflection (schematically illustrated by dashed-dotted lines in FIG. 1 ), absorption, resonance, etc. Such acoustic characteristics may be interpreted as adding acoustic effects such as reverberation, reverberation, attenuation, and resonance to sound or sound waves propagating within the local area LA.

[0028] As will be described later, the impulse response of the local area LA to an impulse (sound) is a representative example of the acoustic characteristics of the local area LA (but is not limited to this). The game sound output from the speaker SP is affected by the acoustic characteristics of the local area LA (i.e., after being reflected, absorbed, resonated, etc. at various locations within the local area LA), before it reaches the player P and is perceived as sound.

[0029] Noise within the local area LA (for example, the room where player P is playing the game) is sound or noise other than game sounds emitted by sound or noise sources inside or outside the local area LA, excluding the speaker SP. The game sounds output from the speaker SP reach player P with noise from the local area LA added to them, and are perceived as sound. As described above, due to the acoustic characteristics and noise of the sound environment, the game sounds output from the speaker SP and the game sounds that player P actually hears will not be exactly the same.

[0030] Examples of local devices capable of measuring the sound environment of the local area LA as described above include a remote controller R, a game console C, a speaker SP, a television set TV, any sensor S (or any device having any sensor function), and general-purpose electronic devices such as a personal computer, tablet, or smartphone used or carried by the player P. These local devices may have the function of measuring sound (and / or noise) or sound waves within the local area LA, or may have the function of emitting sound or sound waves to be measured within the local area LA, or may have both of these functions.

[0031] The above-described methods for measuring the sound environment of the local area LA using one or more local devices can be broadly divided into the following two methods.

[0032] In the first measurement method, one local device emits a measurement sound (measurement sound), and the one local device and / or other local devices measure the measurement sound. In particular, when one local device emits an impulse-like measurement sound and the one local device and / or other local devices measure the impulse-like measurement sound, the one local device and / or the other local devices essentially measure the impulse response of the local area LA.

[0033] In the second measurement method, one or more local devices measure environmental sounds or noises other than game sounds within the local area LA. The noise measured through the second measurement method in this manner may be removed or subtracted from the measurement results of the measurement sounds according to the first measurement method, thereby improving the accuracy of measuring acoustic characteristics such as impulse responses or the sound environment.

[0034] For example, the remote controller R as a local device may measure acoustic characteristics such as impulse response and noise, either alone or in cooperation with other local devices such as a game machine C, a speaker SP, a television TV, and a sensor S.

[0035] When the remote controller R measures acoustic characteristics such as an impulse response by itself, a speaker (not shown) built into the remote controller R emits a measurement sound such as an impulse, and a microphone (not shown) built into the remote controller R measures the reflected sound or reverberation sound (impulse response, etc.) from the local area LA. Furthermore, when the remote controller R measures noise by itself, a microphone (not shown) built into the remote controller R measures the noise.

[0036] When the remote controller R measures acoustic characteristics such as impulse responses in cooperation with other local devices such as a game console C, a speaker SP, a television TV, and a sensor S, a measurement sound such as an impulse emitted by a speaker (not shown) built into the remote controller R may be measured by a microphone (not shown) built into the other local devices. Alternatively, a measurement sound such as an impulse emitted by a speaker (not shown) built into the other local devices may be measured by a microphone (not shown) built into the remote controller R. In such a case, one of the remote controller R and the other local device (such as the game console C) is the transmitter of the measurement sound and the other is the receiver, and acoustic characteristics such as impulse responses between them can be measured. Note that the relative positional relationship in the local area LA of multiple local devices involved in such two-point or multi-point acoustic characteristic measurement can be recognized by a relative positional relationship recognition unit 112, which will be described later.

[0037] Although the remote controller R has been exemplified above as a local device, other local devices such as a game console C, a speaker SP, a television set TV, and a sensor S can also function as transmitters and / or receivers of measurement sounds for measuring acoustic characteristics, or as noise measurers. In this way, by using various local devices that exist in various locations (typically, different places or positions) in the local area LA (or that have various locations in the local area LA as measurement targets), it is possible to measure the sound environment (e.g., acoustic characteristics and noise) of each location in the local area LA in detail or from multiple perspectives.

[0038] When the sound environment measurement unit 111 or the local area situation assessment unit 11 that takes the lead in measuring the sound environment as described above is provided in a game machine C, the game machine C, acting as a control tower, is preferably configured to be able to communicate directly or indirectly, via wire or wireless, with each local device (including the game machine C itself) within the local area LA. Such a game machine C may instruct each local device within the local area LA on the timing of measuring the sound environment at each location (for example, by synchronizing the timing at which one local device emits a measurement sound with the timing at which other local devices receive or measure the measurement sound), or may collect or aggregate the results of measurement of the sound environment by each local device via a data link or the like.

[0039] The relative positional relationship recognition unit 112 recognizes the relative positional relationship between the player P and the speaker SP serving as an audio output device in the local area LA. For example, the relative positional relationship recognition unit 112 may directly measure the relative positions of the player P and the speaker SP in the local area LA using, for example, a camera CR or a distance measurement sensor that optically measures the local area LA. Alternatively, the relative positional relationship recognition unit 112 may directly measure the relative positions of the player P and the speaker SP in the local area LA using a sensor S that measures the local area LA using any principle, such as radio waves, electromagnetism, sound waves, or heat.

[0040] Furthermore, the relative positional relationship recognition unit 112 may use a communication device CM such as a router that can communicate with each of the remote controller R, smartphone, or other general-purpose electronic device used or carried by the player P, and the speaker SP to identify the respective positions from the communication delay and the transmission and reception direction of communication radio waves between them, thereby indirectly estimating the relative positions of the player P and the speaker SP in the local area LA. Note that, if the remote controller R, smartphone, or other general-purpose electronic device used or carried by the player P can directly communicate with the speaker SP via short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), the relative positional relationship recognition unit 112 may identify the relative position and distance (the relative positions of the player P and the speaker SP in the local area LA) from the communication delay and the transmission and reception direction of communication radio waves.

[0041] The relative positional relationship between the player P and the speaker SP in the local area LA recognized by the relative positional relationship recognition unit 112 as described above is used, for example, in the sound adjustment unit 12 described below.

[0042] The relative positional relationship recognition unit 112 may recognize the relative positional relationship between each local device (e.g., remote controller R, game console C, speaker SP, television TV, sensor S, smartphone of player P) that can measure the sound environment of the local area LA individually or jointly as described above. For example, the relative positional relationship recognition unit 112 may directly measure the relative positions of each local device in the local area LA using a camera CR, a distance measurement sensor, or other sensor S. Furthermore, the relative positional relationship recognition unit 112 may identify the position or relative position of each local device in the local area LA from communication between each local device and communication device CM and / or communication between each local device.

[0043] The relative positional relationship between the local devices recognized by the relative positional relationship recognition unit 112 as described above is used, for example, in the above-described sound environment measurement unit 111. For example, when an impulse-like measurement sound emitted by one local device is measured as an impulse response by another local device, the relative positional relationship (e.g., distance) between the pair of local devices in the local area LA is useful metadata.

[0044] The sound transmission delay detection unit 113 detects a sound transmission delay between the game console C, which provides game sound to be output by the speaker SP as an audio output device, and the speaker SP. As shown in FIG. 1 , if the game console C and the speaker SP are connected by an audio cable AC, the sound transmission delay detection unit 113 may detect a transmission delay of an audio signal passing through the audio cable AC. The sound transmission delay, which is the time it takes for an audio signal output from the game console C to reach the speaker SP through the audio cable AC (or the time it takes for sound to be output from the speaker SP), may be detected by directly measuring the audio signal, or may be estimated or calculated based on the length of the audio cable AC. Furthermore, if the game console C and the speaker SP are wirelessly connected via Bluetooth (registered trademark) or the like, the sound transmission delay detection unit 113 may detect the delay or latency in the wireless communication as the sound transmission delay.

[0045] Similar to the sound transmission delay, a video transmission delay between the TV and a game console C that provides game video or images to be output to the TV as a video output device may also be detected. As shown in FIG. 1 , if the game console C and the TV are connected via a video cable VC, a transmission delay of the video signal passing through the video cable VC may be detected. (Note that if the video cable VC is integrated with an audio cable AC, such as an HDMI (registered trademark) cable, there is no need to detect the video transmission delay and the sound transmission delay separately.) The video transmission delay, which is the time it takes for a video signal output from the game console C to reach the TV through the video cable VC (or the time it takes for the video signal to be displayed on the TV), may be detected by directly measuring the video signal, or may be estimated or calculated based on the length of the video cable VC. Furthermore, if the game console C and the TV are wirelessly connected via Bluetooth (registered trademark) or the like, the delay or latency in the wireless communication may be detected as the video transmission delay.

[0046] The sound adjustment unit 12, which is preferably realized in the game machine C, adjusts the sound to be output from the speaker SP as an audio output device, in accordance with the situation of the local area LA grasped by the local area situation grasping unit 11. The sound adjustment unit 12 may adjust the game sound to be output from the speaker SP in accordance with the sound environment of the local area LA measured by the sound environment measuring unit 111.

[0047] Such a sound adjustment unit 12 may adjust the game sound to be output from the speaker SP in accordance with the acoustic characteristics (impulse response, etc.) of the local area LA measured by the sound environment measurement unit 111. For example, the sound adjustment unit 12 may add an impulse response reduction element (e.g., an impulse response obtained by inverting the positive and negative sides of the measured impulse response) to the game sound, which reduces or cancels out the impulse response of the local area LA measured by the sound environment measurement unit 111. Game sound to which such an impulse response reduction element has been added is affected by the impulse response before it is output from the speaker SP and reaches the player P. Therefore, the game sound actually heard by the player P will be an ideal sound, with the influence of the impulse response substantially canceled out.

[0048] Furthermore, the sound adjustment unit 12 may adjust the game sound to be output from the speaker SP in accordance with the noise in the local area LA measured by the sound environment measurement unit 111. For example, the sound adjustment unit 12 may add a noise reduction element (e.g., an inverted version of the measured noise) that reduces or cancels out the noise in the local area LA measured by the sound environment measurement unit 111 to the game sound, in addition to or instead of the impulse response reduction element described above. Game sound to which such a noise reduction element has been added will have noise added before it is output from the speaker SP and reaches the player P. As a result, the game sound actually heard by the player P will be an ideal sound in which the noise has been substantially canceled out.

[0049] It is preferable that the sound adjustment elements, such as impulse response reduction elements and noise reduction elements, that the sound adjustment unit 12 may add to the game sound be precisely configured in the time domain and / or frequency domain so that appropriate adjustments can be made to the impulse responses or noises to be adjusted or reduced (e.g., adjustments to optimize the sound effect for the player P). For example, a specific noise reduction element that targets noise detected in a specific frequency band may be provided concentrated in that specific frequency band in the frequency domain.

[0050] In addition to or instead of the sound environment measured by the sound environment measurement unit 111, the sound adjustment unit 12 may adjust the game sound to be output from the speaker SP for the player P, depending on the relative positional relationship between the player P (and / or the remote controller R) and the speaker SP recognized by the relative positional relationship recognition unit 112. Specifically, the sound adjustment unit 12 may adjust at least one of the timing at which the speaker SP outputs the game sound and the volume of the game sound to be output from the speaker SP, depending on the relative positional relationship (e.g., distance or posture) between the player P and the speaker SP recognized by the relative positional relationship recognition unit 112. For example, if the distance between the player P and the speaker SP is large, the sound adjustment unit 12 may advance the timing at which the speaker SP outputs the game sound (to compensate for propagation delay associated with long distances) and / or increase the volume of the game sound to be output from the speaker SP (to compensate for attenuation over long distances).

[0051] Furthermore, the sound adjustment unit 12 may adjust the timing at which the game machine C provides game sounds to the speaker SP, depending on the sound transmission delay detected by the sound transmission delay detection unit 113 and the relative positional relationship between the player P and the speaker SP recognized by the relative positional relationship recognition unit 112. In other words, the sound adjustment unit 12 can precisely determine the timing at which to output game sounds from the game machine C, taking into consideration both the delay between the game sounds being output from the game machine C and reaching the speaker SP (sound transmission delay via an audio cable AC or the like) and the delay between the game sounds being output from the speaker SP and reaching the player P (which depends on the relative distance (relative positional relationship) between the player P and the speaker SP).

[0052] Note that the game machine C may adjust the timing at which the game machine C provides the game video to the television TV in accordance with the video transmission delay through the video cable VC, etc. In other words, the game machine C can precisely determine the timing at which the game video should be output from the game machine C, taking into consideration the delay (video transmission delay) between when the game video is output from the game machine C and when it reaches the television TV.

[0053] As illustrated in FIG. 1 , if the path or delay along which game images travel from game machine C to player P (for example, a video cable VC (note that the distance between the television TV and player P can be ignored because images travel at the speed of light)) is different from the path or delay along which game sounds travel from game machine C to player P (for example, an audio cable AC and the distance between speaker SP and player P), then by slightly shifting the timing at which game machine C outputs game images to the television TV and the timing at which game machine C outputs game sounds (corresponding to the game images) to speaker SP, player P can enjoy game images and game sounds that are almost perfectly synchronized.

[0054] The present disclosure has been described above based on the embodiments. Various modifications are possible to the combinations of the components and processes in the exemplary embodiments, and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that such modifications are included within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0055] The configuration, operation, and function of each device and method described in the embodiments can be realized by hardware resources, software resources, or a combination of hardware and software resources. Examples of hardware resources include processors, ROM, RAM, and various integrated circuits. Examples of software resources include operating systems, applications, and other programs.

[0056] The present disclosure may be expressed as follows:

[0057] Item 1: A sound adjustment device comprising circuitry configured to measure a sound environment in a local area where a user is present using a local device present in the local area, and adjust a sound to be output from an audio output device present in the local area according to the sound environment. Item 2: The sound adjustment device of item 1, wherein the user is a player of a game, and adjusting the sound adjusts the sound of the game to be output from the audio output device according to the sound environment. Item 3: The sound adjustment device of item 2, wherein the local device is a remote controller used by the player when playing the game. Item 4: The sound adjustment device of item 2 or 3, wherein the local device is a game console that provides at least a part of the game played by the player. Item 5: The sound adjustment device of any of items 1 to 4, wherein measuring the sound environment measures an impulse response of the local area using the local device. Item 6: The sound adjustment device of item 5, wherein adjusting the sound adds an impulse response reduction element to the sound that reduces the impulse response. Item 7: The sound adjustment device of any one of items 1 to 6, wherein measuring the sound environment measures noise in the local area by the local device. Item 8: The sound adjustment device of item 7, wherein adjusting the sound adds a noise reduction element to the sound that reduces the noise. Item 9: The sound adjustment device of any one of items 1 to 8, wherein the circuit is configured to recognize a relative positional relationship between the user and the audio output device in the local area, and adjusting the sound adjusts the sound to be output from the audio output device for the user depending on the sound environment and the relative positional relationship.Item 10: The sound adjustment device of item 9, wherein adjusting the sound adjusts at least one of the timing at which the audio output device outputs the sound and the volume of the sound that is output by the audio output device, depending on the relative positional relationship. Item 11: The sound adjustment device of item 10, wherein the user is a game player, and adjusting the sound adjusts the game sound that is output by the audio output device, depending on the sound environment, and the circuit is configured to detect a sound transmission delay between the audio output device and a gaming machine that is present in the local area and provides at least a part of the game played by the player and that provides the game sound to be output by the audio output device, and adjusting the game sound adjusts the timing at which the gaming machine provides the game sound to the audio output device, depending on the sound transmission delay and the relative positional relationship. Item 12: The sound adjustment device according to any one of items 1 to 11, wherein the user is a game player, and adjusting the sound adjusts the game sound to be output from the audio output device in accordance with the sound environment, and at least one of measuring the sound environment and adjusting the game sound is executed on a game machine that provides at least a part of the game played by the player and is located in the local area. Item 13: A sound adjustment method that measures the sound environment of a local area in which a user is located by a local device located in the local area, and adjusts the sound to be output from an audio output device located in the local area in accordance with the sound environment. Item 14: A storage medium storing a sound adjustment program that causes a computer to measure the sound environment of a local area in which a user is located by a local device located in the local area, and adjust the sound to be output from an audio output device located in the local area in accordance with the sound environment.

[0058] The present disclosure relates to techniques for adjusting the sound provided to a user.

[0059] 1 sound adjustment device, 11 local area situation grasping unit, 12 sound adjustment unit, 111 sound environment measuring unit, 112 relative position relationship recognition unit, 113 sound transmission delay detection unit.

Claims

a sound environment measurement unit that measures the sound environment of a local area where a user is located using a local device that is present in the local area; a sound adjustment unit that adjusts the sound output from an audio output device present in the local area according to the sound environment; A sound adjustment device comprising: 　 the user is a player of a game; the sound adjustment unit adjusts the game sound to be output by the audio output device in accordance with the sound environment. The sound adjustment device according to claim 1 . 　 The sound adjustment device according to claim 2 , wherein the local device is a remote controller used by the player when playing a game. 　 The sound adjustment apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the local device is a gaming console that provides at least a portion of a game played by the player. 　 The sound adjustment device according to claim 2 , wherein the sound environment measurement unit measures an impulse response of the local area by the local device. 　 The sound adjustment device according to claim 5 , wherein the sound adjustment section adds an impulse response reduction element that reduces the impulse response to the game sound. 　 The sound adjustment device according to claim 2 , wherein the sound environment measurement unit measures noise in the local area using the local device. 　 The sound adjustment device according to claim 7 , wherein the sound adjustment unit adds a noise reduction element that reduces the noise to the game sound. 　 a relative positional relationship recognition unit that recognizes a relative positional relationship between the player and the audio output device in the local area; the sound adjustment unit adjusts the game sound to be output from the audio output device to the player in accordance with the sound environment and the relative positional relationship.

9. The sound adjustment device according to claim 2. 　 The sound adjustment device according to claim 9, wherein the sound adjustment unit adjusts at least one of the timing at which the sound of the game is output from the audio output device and the volume of the sound of the game that is output from the audio output device, depending on the relative positional relationship. 　 a game machine that is present in the local area and provides at least a part of the game played by the player, the game machine providing sounds of the game to be output to the audio output device; and a sound transmission delay detection unit that detects a sound transmission delay between the audio output device, the sound adjustment unit adjusts a timing at which the game machine provides the sound of the game to the audio output device in accordance with the sound transmission delay and the relative positional relationship; The sound adjustment device according to claim 10.

9. The sound adjustment device according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the sound environment measurement unit and the sound adjustment unit is provided in a game machine that provides at least a part of the game played by the player and that is present in the local area. 　 measuring a sound environment in a local area where a user is located by a local device present in the local area; adjusting the sound output from an audio output device present in the local area according to the sound environment; Perform sound adjustment methods. 　 measuring a sound environment in a local area where a user is located by a local device present in the local area; adjusting the sound output from an audio output device present in the local area according to the sound environment; A storage medium storing a sound adjustment program that causes a computer to execute the above.

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