Audio Cancellation Gesture Detection Dynamics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Active noise cancellation and active audio cancellation technologies fail to allow users to hear sound-producing user gestures, such as tapping or clapping, due to full or partial cancellation of exterior sounds.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus that senses user movement, classifies it as a sound-producing user gesture, and provides audio feedback by temporarily modifying the audio cancellation process to allow the user to hear the gesture, either by reducing cancellation, increasing transparency, switching off cancellation, or providing spatially selective pass-through.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If active noise cancellation is applied to suppress exterior sounds, then noise reduction is improved, but the user cannot hear sound-producing gestures
Solution Approach 1:
The audio cancellation level is dynamically adjusted based on detected gesture intensity. When a sound-producing gesture is detected, the system temporarily reduces or disables audio cancellation to allow the user to hear their gesture, then restores cancellation after the gesture completes. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by making the cancellation level variable rather than fixed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the audio cancellation parameter (cancellation level) in response to gesture detection. By monitoring gesture intensity and adjusting the cancellation parameter accordingly, the system enables gesture sound perception when needed while maintaining noise reduction during normal operation, thus resolving the contradiction between these two opposing requirements.
2Loss of information
If audio cancellation is reduced to allow gesture sounds, then gesture perception is improved, but noise cancellation effectiveness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies audio cancellation periodically - full cancellation during normal operation, temporary reduction during gesture detection, and restoration afterward. This periodic modulation of cancellation intensity allows the system to maintain overall noise cancellation effectiveness while enabling gesture perception during brief intervals when gestures occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The cancellation effectiveness is dynamically adjusted based on gesture presence. The system transitions between high cancellation effectiveness (no gesture) and lower cancellation effectiveness (gesture detected), optimizing both noise reduction and gesture perception at different times rather than compromising one for the other continuously.
3Loss of information
If transparency mode is increased to allow more exterior sound, then gesture hearing is improved, but noise suppression capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The transparency level is dynamically controlled based on gesture detection. During normal operation, transparency remains low for effective noise suppression. When a gesture is detected, transparency is temporarily increased to allow gesture sound perception, then reduced afterward. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by making transparency variable rather than fixed.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus comprising:means for sensing user movement, wherein the sensing of user movement produces sensing data;means for classifying the user movement, in dependence upon at least the sensing data, as a sound-producing user gesture of a user; andmeans for providing audio feedback to the user in dependence upon the classification.