Audio Analytics System for Accessibility via Real-Time Stream Prioritization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users, especially those with hearing impairments, face difficulties in navigating complex audio environments in digital content such as interactive games due to overwhelming and distracting sound combinations, which can affect their enjoyment and accessibility.
Innovation Solution
A system that monitors audio streams based on a user's custom audio profile, prioritizes and modifies sound properties in real-time to enhance audio accessibility, allowing users to customize the audio experience by boosting important sounds like spoken dialogue over background noise.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple audio streams are presented simultaneously in digital content, then the content becomes more engaging and socially interactive, but the audio environment becomes overwhelming and distracting for users with hearing impairments
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the complex audio environment into distinct audio streams (game audio, social audio, real-world audio) and applies individualized processing to each stream based on user profile, allowing selective enhancement or suppression of specific audio categories while maintaining overall engagement
Solution Approach 2:
Different audio processing parameters are applied to different audio streams based on their specific characteristics and user preferences, with each stream receiving customized audio modifications tailored to its type and importance to the user
2Reliability
If audio modifications are applied to prioritize certain sounds, then accessibility for users with hearing impairments is improved, but the complexity of audio processing increases
Solution Approach 1:
User audio profiles and preferences are established in advance through profiling processes, allowing the system to automatically apply appropriate audio modifications without requiring real-time complex decision-making, thereby reducing processing complexity while maintaining accessibility
Solution Approach 2:
An audio processing system acts as an intermediary between the raw audio streams and the user's hearing device, applying pre-determined modifications based on user profiles, which simplifies the overall processing architecture while ensuring consistent accessibility improvements
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for audio analytics and audio-based accessibility are provided. A user audio profile may be stored in memory for a user. The user audio profile may include a custom prioritization of one or more audio parameters associated with one or more audio modifications. Audio streams associated with a user device of the user may be monitored based on the user audio profile during a current session. The audio parameters may be detected as being present in the monitored audio streams, and the detected audio parameters may be prioritized based on the custom prioritization of the user audio profile. A sound property of at least one of the audio streams may be modified in real-time based on the prioritization of the detected audio parameters by applying the audio modifications of the user audio profile to the at least one audio stream before the at least one audio stream is provided to the user device.