Audio Signal Processor with Image-Source Matching for Binaural Rendering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing binaural audio rendering systems face challenges in computational complexity, requiring complex room geometric models, high processing power, and motion-to-sound latency, especially in mobile and wearable devices, leading to non-natural sound perception and reduced externalization.
Innovation Solution
An audio signal processor that separates single-channel acoustic data into direct sound, early reflections, and late reverberation parts, processes each part individually, and integrates directivity information, using a matching operation to associate image source positions with segments, and distributes processing across devices with varying power supplies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If complex room geometric models are used to simulate convincing room impulse responses, then the effectiveness of the simulation is improved, but the computational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the room impulse response into three distinct parts: direct sound, early reflections, and late reverberation. Each part is processed separately with different levels of computational complexity, allowing high-quality simulation of critical components while reducing overall computational burden.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the audio signal are processed with different qualities. The direct sound and early reflections receive high-quality processing with image source positions and precise timing, while the late reverberation uses a simplified approach, allocating computational resources based on local importance.
2Manufacturing precision
If high processing power is used to achieve accurate binaural rendering, then the sound perception quality is improved, but the device requirements become more stringent
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the processing into three segments (direct sound, early reflections, late reverberation), the patent enables low-power devices to handle the computationally intensive early reflections and direct sound with limited processing power, while using more powerful systems for the late reverberation if needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial processing - using full computational accuracy only where necessary (direct sound and early reflections for externalization) and simplified processing where it matters less (late reverberation), avoiding the need for high processing power throughout the entire signal processing chain.
3Loss of time
If real-time processing is performed on mobile devices, then the latency is reduced, but the processing power requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the processing tasks by temporal characteristics of the audio signal, enabling real-time processing of critical components (direct sound and early reflections) on mobile devices while deferring or simplifying the processing of less time-critical components (late reverberation).
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies high processing quality locally to the direct sound and early reflections parts, which are most important for maintaining low latency and accurate spatial perception, while using reduced quality processing for the late reverberation part.
4Manufacturing precision
If image source positions are precisely calculated for each segment, then the externalization is improved, but the computational demands increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the early reflections into multiple segments, each associated with specific image source positions. This segmentation allows precise calculation of image source positions only for the early reflections portion, rather than for the entire audio signal, reducing overall computational demands.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies precise image source position calculations locally to the early reflections segments where they are most important for externalization, while using simpler processing for the direct sound and late reverberation parts.
Data Source
AI summary
Audio signal processor for generating a two-channel audio signal having: an input interface for providing single-channel acoustic data describing an acoustic environment; a two-channel synthesizer for synthesizing two-channel acoustic data using a listener position or rotation; and a sound generator for generating the two-channel audio signal from an audio signal and the two-channel acoustic data, wherein the two-channel synthesizer is configured to separate the single-channel acoustic data into at least two parts consisting of a direct sound part and at least one of an early reflection part and a late reverberation part, the two-channel synthesizer configured to segment the early reflection part into a plurality of segments, to determine a plurality of image source positions representing source positions of reflection sound, to associate the image source positions to the segments using a matching operation, and to calculate the two-channel acoustic data for the direct sound using the image source positions.