Audio System Spatializing Virtual Sound Sources
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing audio systems in augmented and virtual reality fail to effectively spatialize virtual sound sources, leading to decreased intelligibility due to overlap with real sound sources and increased cognitive load, as they do not adequately consider the physical environment and spectral characteristics of sounds.
Innovation Solution
An audio system comprising a microphone array, controller, and transducer array that monitors sound in a local area, identifies sound sources, and determines a target position for virtual sound sources based on constraints such as distance from real sound sources and spectral profiles, generating sound filters to spatialize the virtual sound sources optimally.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If virtual sound sources are placed freely by software or hardware, then spatial flexibility is improved, but sound intelligibility deteriorates due to overlap with real sound sources
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors the physical environment using microphones to detect real sound sources, and uses this feedback to dynamically adjust the positioning of virtual sound sources. The controller receives information about real sound source locations and modifies virtual sound source placement accordingly to avoid overlap and maintain intelligibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from static, pre-defined virtual sound source placement to dynamic positioning that adapts in real-time based on the physical environment. The virtual sound source locations are continuously updated according to the current positions of real sound sources detected by the microphone array, making the system flexible and context-aware.
2Area of stationary object
If virtual sound sources are placed close to real sound sources, then spatial utilization is improved, but perceived quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different spatial placement strategies to different regions of the acoustic environment. Instead of uniform distribution, virtual sound sources are positioned in locally optimal locations that avoid proximity to real sound sources, ensuring high perceived quality in each local region while maintaining overall spatial utilization.
3Reliability
If sound sources are bounded by physical world constraints, then realism is improved, but spatial freedom deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system resolves the conflict between physical constraints and spatial freedom by adding temporal dimension to the positioning problem. Virtual sound sources can occupy the same spatial coordinates at different times, allowing the system to respect physical world constraints while maintaining narrative and spatial freedom through time-based separation.
Data Source
AI summary
An audio system for spatializing virtual sound sources is described. A microphone array of the audio system is configured to monitor sound in a local area. A controller of the audio system identifies sound sources within the local area using the monitored sound from the microphone array and determines their locations. The controller of the audio system generates a target position for a virtual sound source based on one or more constraints. The one or more constraints include that the target position be at least a threshold distance away from each of the determined locations of the identified sound sources. The controller generates one or more sound filters based in part on the target position to spatialize the virtual sound source. A transducer array of the audio system presents spatialized audio including the virtual sound source content based in part on the one or more sound filters.