AR Audio System Spatial Positioning and Triggered Sound Effects
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing augmented reality (AR) systems lack the ability to create triggered audio streams or effects that are spatially relevant to a user's location and actions within a physical environment, often requiring the user to remain in a fixed location and not effectively integrating virtual audio with ambient sounds.
Innovation Solution
An AR audio system that uses binaural microphones and sensors to capture ambient sounds and trigger virtual sound effects, which are then mixed with ambient audio to create a 3D audio experience, allowing virtual sounds to be positioned accurately within the environment and triggered by user actions or location, using a control unit and sensor array to process and combine audio streams.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If virtual sound effects are integrated with ambient audio in AR systems, then the immersion and realism of the audio experience is improved, but the complexity of the audio processing system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The audio processing system is divided into separate functional modules: ambient audio capture module, virtual sound effect generation module, spatial positioning module, and audio mixing module. Each module handles a specific aspect of audio processing independently, making the overall complex system more manageable and easier to implement.
Solution Approach 2:
A digital signal processor (DSP) serves as an intermediary component that receives both ambient audio signals and virtual sound effect signals, processes them separately, and then combines them into a final mixed audio output. This intermediary approach allows complex processing to be centralized in one component while keeping other parts of the system simpler.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the system allows users to move freely in a large physical area, then the versatility and adaptability of the AR experience is improved, but the difficulty of maintaining accurate spatial audio positioning increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs a multi-functional sensor array that integrates multiple sensor types (accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, and optionally cameras) into a single unified system. This sensor array serves multiple purposes: tracking user position, determining orientation, calculating spatial audio parameters, and maintaining continuous updates as the user moves through the environment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors user position and orientation changes through the sensor array and feeds this information back to the spatial audio positioning algorithm. This feedback loop allows the system to dynamically adjust virtual sound positions in real-time as the user moves, maintaining accurate spatial audio positioning throughout the large physical area.
3Productivity
If the system processes and mixes multiple audio streams in real-time, then the responsiveness and interactivity of the AR audio experience is improved, but the computational requirements and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-processes and pre-generates virtual sound effects and spatial audio parameters before they are needed during the AR experience. Sound effects are prepared in advance with their spatial characteristics calculated, and the system maintains pre-computed transformation matrices and audio templates that can be quickly applied in real-time without requiring complex computations at the moment of playback.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables a more immersive AR experience by allowing virtual sounds to be precisely located and triggered in real-time, enhancing the integration of virtual and ambient audio without detracting from the physical environment's sounds, supporting a wide range of interactive and gaming applications.
Implementation Method 1
binaural microphones to capture ambient sounds
Implementation Method 2
One or more sensors may also be provided on the left and right ear units to sense an external input or trigger such as receipt of an infrared (IR) signal
Data Source
AI summary
An augmented reality (AR) audio system for augmenting environment or ambient sound with sounds from a virtual speaker or sound source positioned at a location in the space surrounding an AR participant. The sound from the virtual speaker may be triggered by an action of the listener and/or by the location or relative orientation of the listener. The AR audio system includes stereo earphones receiving an augmented audio track from a control unit, and binaural microphones are provided to capture ambient sounds. The control unit operates to process trigger signals and retrieve one or more augmentation sounds. The control unit uses an AR audio mixer to combine the ambient sound from the microphones with the augmentation sounds to generate left and right ear augmented audio or binaural audio, which may be modified for acoustic effects of the environment including virtual objects in the environment or virtual characteristics of real objects.