Adaptive Crowd Announcement Acoustics for Aircraft Cabins

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing systems fail to effectively manage passenger expectations and communicate with passengers on aircraft, leading to increased pilot workload, especially in single-pilot operations, due to ambient noise and crowd mood variations.

Innovation Solution

A system and method that utilizes a multimedia device to detect facial images and acoustic sounds, processes these features to determine an aggregate emotional state, and adjusts acoustic-prosodic features and message content to generate targeted announcements.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If pilots manually manage passenger expectations and communicate with passengers, then communication effectiveness can be maintained, but pilot workload increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepilot workloadVSAvoidcommunication effectiveness
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables automated monitoring and adaptation of announcements based on crowd emotional states and ambient noise. The processor automatically analyzes multimedia data, determines aggregate emotional states, and manipulates acoustic-prosodic features without requiring pilot intervention, allowing the system to serve itself in managing passenger communication

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the mechanical system of manual pilot communication with an automated digital system that uses multimedia devices, processors, and algorithms to monitor crowd behavior and adapt announcements automatically, substituting human effort with computational processing

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Productivity

If standard announcements are used without adaptation, then pilot workload remains low, but announcement impact on crowd behavior is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveannouncement impactVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adapts acoustic-prosodic features of announcements based on real-time detection of crowd emotional states and ambient noise conditions. The processor continuously manipulates message characteristics such as pitch, rate, and volume to optimize impact, making the announcement system flexible and responsive rather than static

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes physical parameters of the announcement delivery system by adjusting acoustic-prosodic features (pitch, rate, volume) based on detected crowd conditions. The processor modifies these parameters in real-time to optimize communication effectiveness for different emotional states and noise environments

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Reliability

If announcements do not adapt to ambient noise and crowd mood, then system simplicity is maintained, but communication effectiveness deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecommunication effectivenessVSAvoidmessaging adaptability
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring crowd emotional states through facial image and acoustic analysis, then using this information to adapt subsequent announcements. The processor creates a closed-loop system where announcement effectiveness is continuously improved based on real-time crowd response detection

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary detection and analysis of crowd emotional states and ambient noise conditions before delivering adapted announcements. The processor prepares optimized message characteristics in advance based on detected conditions, ensuring announcements are pre-adapted to current crowd states for maximum effectiveness

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP4383248B1System and method for targeted crowd-based acoustic-prosodic and linguistic accomodation
Publication Date: 2026.02.18 HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC
  • EP4383248B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4383248B1 patent drawingFigure 2

AI summary

A system and method for providing targeted crowd-based acoustic-prosodic and linguistic accommodation includes simultaneously detecting, with a multimedia device, individual facial images of a plurality of individuals and acoustic sounds from the plurality of individuals. Message data representative of an audible message supplied to the plurality of individuals is supplied to the processing system, the message data. In the processing system: a plurality of facial features and a plurality of acoustic-related features are extracted from the multimedia data; the facial features and the acoustic-related features are processed to determine an aggregate emotional state of the plurality of individuals; one or more acoustic-prosodic features of the audible message and/or a content of the audible message are selectively manipulated based on the determined aggregate emotional state of the plurality of individuals to generate an updated audible message; and the updated audible message is output.