Audio Transmission System Using Attention-Based Noise Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic devices fail to effectively help users in noisy or quiet environments by inadequately managing sound transmission and reception, leading to difficulties in hearing specific sound sources and ensuring voices are heard by intended recipients, particularly due to the 'cocktail party effect' where background noise interferes with conversations.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of devices and methods that use user attention to selectively transmit audio and adjust noise cancellation or transparency based on contextual factors such as object locations, eye tracking, and physiological data, utilizing low-latency multi-user wireless networking to enhance audio transmission and reception, allowing users to focus on specific sound sources while minimizing background noise.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If noise cancellation is used to block background noise, then audio clarity is improved, but user awareness of ambient environment is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically switches between noise cancellation mode and ambient sound passthrough mode based on detected user attention state. When the user is determined to be attentively listening to a specific audio source, noise cancellation is activated to improve audio clarity. When the user shifts attention to the ambient environment, the system transitions to passthrough mode to restore environmental awareness, thus resolving the contradiction between audio clarity and environmental awareness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses sensors to continuously monitor user attention state and provides feedback to control the noise cancellation algorithm. This closed-loop feedback mechanism allows the system to adaptively adjust the balance between noise cancellation and ambient sound transmission based on real-time user behavior, optimizing both audio clarity and environmental awareness according to actual usage conditions.
2Speed
If audio is transmitted wirelessly in real-time, then communication responsiveness is improved, but transmission latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by capturing and buffering audio data before actual transmission is needed. By pre-processing and preparing audio streams in advance, the system reduces the time required for real-time wireless transmission, thereby improving communication responsiveness while minimizing perceived latency to acceptable levels.
3Measurement precision
If multiple sensors are used to detect user attention, then detection accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple sensor types (cameras for eye tracking, microphones for audio analysis, accelerometers for head movement detection) into an integrated attention detection system. By combining these sensors and processing their data through a unified algorithm, the system achieves high detection accuracy while managing device complexity through integrated design and shared processing resources.
Data Source
AI summary
Various implementations disclosed herein include devices, systems, and methods that sense, assess, measure, or otherwise determine user attention to selectively transmit or deliver audio from an audio source (e.g., a talking user's voice captured by their device, a TV, etc.) to one or more listening users' devices and/or adjusts audio cancellation/transparency of environmental noise on the one or more listening users' devices in a multi-person setting.