Audio Signal Proximity Detection Using Ultrasonic Codes
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Setting up a communication session between devices is often cumbersome due to the complexity of existing methods for device matching and proximity determination.
Innovation Solution
A method involving devices transmitting audio signals outside human hearing range, encoding codes that are shared and processed by a server to determine proximity, with optional distance and velocity calculations using chirps and timestamps, facilitating communication between devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If audio signals are transmitted over a shared audio channel for device matching, then device proximity determination is enabled, but the complexity of setting up communication sessions increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system comprising a server and database that mediates between devices attempting to establish communication. The server receives audio signals from multiple devices, processes them to determine proximity, and facilitates matching without requiring direct complex interactions between the devices themselves. This intermediary infrastructure handles the complexity of signal processing and matching logic centrally.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual or direct device-to-device matching mechanisms with an automated acoustic field-based system. Instead of requiring users to manually configure communication sessions or devices to directly negotiate connectivity, the system uses audio signal transmission and processing to automatically determine proximity and facilitate matching, substituting mechanical or manual operations with automated acoustic sensing and processing.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If audio signals are transmitted at frequencies outside human hearing range, then the signals remain inaudible to users, but the complexity of signal transmission and reception increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the frequency parameter of the audio signals to lie outside the human audible range (typically above 20 kHz). This parameter modification allows the signals to be transmitted and processed by devices without causing disturbance to users. The system utilizes ultrasonic frequencies that can carry encoded information while remaining imperceptible to human ears, thus eliminating the harmful factor of user disturbance.
3Reliability
If audio volume is raised during signal transmission, then signal detection reliability is improved, but user disturbance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the frequency parameter of the audio signals to exceed the human audible range. This allows the system to transmit signals at higher volumes necessary for reliable detection and processing without causing user disturbance, since users cannot hear frequencies above their audible threshold. The frequency parameter change decouples the relationship between transmission volume and user disturbance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts what would normally be a harmful effect (high volume causing disturbance) into a beneficial outcome by using inaudible frequencies. The high volume transmission, which would normally be disturbing, becomes beneficial because it ensures reliable signal detection and processing while the inaudible nature of the frequencies prevents user disturbance. The potential harm is transformed into a benefit through frequency selection.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple devices transmit audio signals simultaneously over a shared channel, then device matching capability is enhanced, but signal interference and detection difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the audio signals by assigning unique frequency components or time slots to different devices transmitting over the shared audio channel. This segmentation allows the receiving device to distinguish and extract individual device signatures from the composite signal. By dividing the signal space (frequency or temporal), the system enables multiple devices to transmit simultaneously without complete signal interference, facilitating device matching while maintaining detectability.
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
Simplifies device matching and communication setup by enabling reliable proximity determination and potential distance and velocity calculations, enhancing the ease of establishing communication sessions between devices.
Implementation Method 1
transmitting, by a first device, a first audio signal that encodes a first code over an audio channel that is shared between the first device and a second device; transmitting, by the second device, a second audio signal that encodes a second code over the audio channel
Implementation Method 2
receiving, by the first device, the second audio signal over the audio channel, and extracting, by the first device, the second code from the second audio signal
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
A first device periodically transmits a first audio signal that encodes a first code over an audio channel that is shared between the first device and a second device, and the second device periodically transmits a second audio signal that encodes a second code over the audio channel. When the first device receives the second audio signal over the audio channel, the first device extracts the second code from the second audio signal and sends the second code to a server. When the second device receives the first audio signal over the audio channel, the second device extracts the first code from the first audio signal and sends the first code to the server. If the server receives the first code from the second device and/or the second code from the first device, the server can conclude that the first device is in proximity to the second device.