Audio Signal Prioritization in Conference Focus Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
In multi-participant audio conferences, the central distributor in a focus point network faces high computational resource consumption due to processing multiple audio signals, leading to performance inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
The focus device prioritizes audio signals based on criteria such as volume level and duration of speech, limiting the number of signals processed and reducing unnecessary audio processing operations by deeming silent or muted participants' signals as low-priority.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the central distributor processes all received audio signals to generate composite signals for each participant, then the audio quality and completeness are improved, but the computational resource consumption increases substantially
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential audio signals needed for each participant by identifying and removing redundant signals. The focus device determines which remote audio signals to exclude from the composite signal based on what the participant can already hear locally, thereby reducing processing load while maintaining audio quality.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of processing all possible audio signals, the patent applies partial action by processing only the necessary subset of signals. The focus device selectively processes audio signals based on participant needs, avoiding excessive processing of redundant signals that would consume unnecessary computational resources.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the central distributor generates and distributes composite audio signals to all participants, then the communication completeness is improved, but the device complexity and processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the audio processing task by creating separate processing paths for local and remote audio signals. The focus device handles local audio separately and selectively combines it with specific remote audio signals, reducing the complexity of generating complete composite signals for all participants.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic adaptability by allowing participants to independently control which remote audio signals they receive. The system dynamically adjusts the composite signal composition based on individual participant preferences and local audio availability, reducing processing overhead while maintaining communication completeness.
3Reliability
If the focus device processes audio signals from all remote participants, then the audio coverage is improved, but the computational efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary remote audio signals for each participant by identifying and excluding redundant signals. The focus device determines which remote signals to process based on what participants cannot hear locally, thereby improving computational efficiency while maintaining complete audio coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the processing parameters by selectively applying audio processing operations only to necessary signals. The focus device adjusts the composite signal composition dynamically based on participant-specific needs, improving computational efficiency while ensuring complete audio coverage for all participants.
Data Source
AI summary
A first computing device distributes audio signals to several computing devices of participants in a communication session. In some embodiments, the first computing device serves as a central distributor for receiving audio signals from other computing devices, compositing the audio signals and distributing the composited audio signals to the other computing devices. The first computing device prioritizes the received audio signals based on a set of criteria and selects several highly prioritized audio signals. The first computing device generates composite audio signals using only the selected audio signals. The first computing device sends each computing device the composited audio signal for the device. In some cases, the first computing device sends a selected audio signal to another computing device without mixing the signal with any other audio signal.