Audio System Far-Field Noise Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional audio systems struggle to maintain a target audio experience in environments with obtrusive audio sources, as they lack control over far-field radiated sound, leading to degradation of the intended audio experience for users in augmented reality settings.
Innovation Solution
An audio system comprising an acoustic sensor array and a controller that detects sound waves from non-target audio sources, determines their spatial location and type, and generates audio instructions to execute active noise cancellation, ambient sound masking, or neutral sound masking through a playback device array, ensuring a modified audio experience that compensates for the degrading sound waves.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If headphones are used to present target audio experience, then audio quality is improved and unaffected by other audio sources, but user comfort deteriorates due to ear canal occlusion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the audio playback function from the ear canal occluding headphones and relocates it to far-field speakers. The system uses acoustic sensors and signal processing to deliver audio content through air conduction rather than direct ear canal conduction, eliminating the harmful occlusion effect while maintaining audio quality through active noise management.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces acoustic sensors and active noise cancellation technology as intermediaries between the audio source and the user's ear. These intermediaries detect and manage ambient sound waves, allowing clear audio delivery through far-field speakers without requiring physical occlusion of the ear canal.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If far-field speakers are used to present audio content, then user comfort is improved by avoiding ear canal occlusion, but audio quality deteriorates due to lack of control over far-field radiated sound
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback loop where acoustic sensors continuously monitor ambient sound waves in the far-field environment. This feedback information is processed by a controller that dynamically adjusts audio signals to compensate for detected sound waves, maintaining audio quality despite the far-field delivery method.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary anti-action by using active noise cancellation to counteract detected ambient sound waves before they degrade the target audio experience. The system generates anti-phase sound waves that cancel out harmful ambient sounds, proactively protecting audio quality in the far-field delivery scenario.
3Reliability
If active noise cancellation is applied to compensate for sound waves, then audio quality is improved by reducing degradation from non-target audio sources, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple functions into unified components. The acoustic sensors serve both for spatial audio processing and for detecting ambient noise for cancellation. The controller performs both audio signal processing and noise cancellation operations, reducing the need for separate dedicated hardware components and managing system complexity.
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
The system effectively reduces the perception of degrading sound waves from non-target audio sources, maintaining a high-quality target audio experience for users by dynamically adjusting the audio content to counteract interference, thus enhancing user immersion in augmented reality environments.
Implementation Method 1
The audio system detects, via a microphone array of the audio assembly, sound waves from one or more audio sources in a local area of the headset
Implementation Method 2
The presented audio content compensates for the sound waves received from the one or more audio sources. For example, the presented audio content may include audio content that performs active noise cancellation
Implementation Method 3
The modified audio experience may perform active noise cancelling, ambient sound masking, and/or neutral sound masking to compensate for the sound waves received from non-target audio sources
Data Source
AI summary
An audio system is configured to present a modified audio experience that reduces the degradation of a target audio experience presented to a user by the audio system. The audio system includes an acoustic sensor array, a controller, and a playback device array. To generate the modified audio experience, the acoustic sensor array receives the sound waves from one or more non-target audio source(s) causing the degradation, identifies the audio source(s), determines the spatial location of the audio source(s), determines the type of the audio source(s) and generates audio instructions that, when executed by the playback device array, present the modified audio experience to the user. The modified audio experience may perform active noise cancelling, ambient sound masking, and/or neutral sound masking to compensate for the sound waves received from non-target audio sources. The audio system may be part of a headset that can produce an artificial reality environment.