Audio Rendering Signal Processing Reducing Computational Complexity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for modeling indoor room acoustics in spatial audio are computationally intensive, particularly for high-fidelity audio rendering, and are not efficient for low-hardware performance devices like mid- to low-level personal computers or mobile devices, as they require extensive calculations for accurate reverberation simulation.
Innovation Solution
A signal processing method that optimizes response signals derived from sound signals by processing them based on perceptual characteristics, reducing the number of signals needed for audio rendering, thereby decreasing computational complexity and improving efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If geometric acoustics is used to model indoor room acoustics for high-fidelity audio rendering, then the realism and accuracy of spatial audio are improved, but the computational complexity and processing load increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and processes response signals separately from the complete geometric acoustics simulation. By identifying and processing only the most significant response signals (direct sound, early reflections, and late reverberation components) independently, the system achieves high-fidelity audio rendering without requiring full computational simulation of all sound paths, thus reducing computational complexity while maintaining accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the acoustic response into distinct components (direct sound, early reflections, late reverberation) and processes each segment separately using different techniques. This segmentation allows the system to apply optimized processing to each component rather than treating the entire acoustic field uniformly, reducing overall computational load while preserving the realism of each acoustic element.
2Measurement precision
If a large number of response signals are processed for accurate reverberation simulation, then the fidelity of spatial audio is improved, but the processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses perceptual characteristics as a filtering mechanism to identify and retain only those response signals that are perceptually significant. By applying perceptual thresholds and masking criteria, the system discards (disposes of) computationally expensive response signals that contribute minimally to the perceived audio quality, thus reducing processing time while maintaining reverberation simulation accuracy for the signals that matter most.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter set used for response signal processing by incorporating perceptual characteristics (such as perceptual loudness, masking thresholds, and critical bands) into the selection and processing criteria. This parameter transformation allows the system to prioritize processing of perceptually relevant signals over those that are computationally expensive but perceptually insignificant, thereby reducing processing time while maintaining fidelity.
3Measurement precision
If wave acoustics is used for low frequency modeling, then the accuracy of sound propagation is improved, but the computational load increases rapidly with frequency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different processing qualities and levels of detail to different frequency components and spatial locations. For low frequency components where wave acoustics is most important, the system applies optimized processing that maintains accuracy while reducing computational load. For high frequency components, the system uses geometric acoustics approximations that are computationally more efficient. This local differentiation of processing quality allows accurate sound propagation modeling without uniformly high computational load across all frequencies.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a signal processing method and apparatus for audio rendering, and an electronic device. The signal processing method for audio rendering comprises: acquiring a response signal set, the response signal set comprising response signals derived from sound signals, wherein the sound signals are signals received at a listening position; and on the basis of perceptual characteristics related to the response signals, processing the response signals in the response signal set to obtain response signals suitable for audio rendering, wherein the number of the response signals suitable for audio rendering is less than or equal to the number of the response signals in the response signal set.