Audio Transition Rendering for Seamless Acoustic Environment Blending
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for transitioning between acoustic environments in immersive audio scenes, such as those used in augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality, result in abrupt changes that disrupt the immersive experience due to sudden differences in diffuse late reverberation, making the transition unnatural and distracting.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method for enabling seamless transitions between acoustic environments by adjusting reverberation gain parameters based on listener position relative to a defined proximity threshold, using a bitstream to signal acoustic environment metadata and proximity thresholds, allowing for smooth blending of reverberation across environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If abrupt transitions between acoustic environments are used, then the transition is simple and fast, but the immersive experience is disrupted due to sudden differences in diffuse late reverberation
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the reverberation characteristics of acoustic environments based on the listener's position. As the listener moves between environments, the reverberation gain parameters are continuously modified to create a smooth transition, preventing abrupt changes while maintaining immersion. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by making the transition process adaptive rather than static.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the reverberation gain parameters of different acoustic environments based on listener position relative to portal thresholds. By modulating the reverberation characteristics according to spatial context, the system achieves seamless transitions that maintain immersive experience while allowing relatively fast movement between environments.
2Reliability
If reverberation gain parameters are adjusted based on listener position, then seamless transition is achieved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-defines portal thresholds and reverberation gain parameters for different acoustic environments before the listener enters them. This preliminary configuration allows the complex reverberation adjustments to be triggered automatically based on simple position detection, reducing the real-time computational complexity while maintaining transition smoothness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces portal thresholds as intermediary elements that mediate between the listener's position and the reverberation parameter adjustments. These thresholds act as triggers that automatically initiate the complex reverberation blending process, simplifying the control architecture while achieving seamless transitions through the intermediary triggering mechanism.
3Reliability
If multiple acoustic environments are acoustically coupled with portals, then realistic rendering is achieved, but the computational load increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different reverberation characteristics to different acoustic environments based on their local acoustic properties. Each environment has its own tailored reverberation gain parameters that are activated locally when the listener enters that environment, rather than applying uniform processing throughout. This local quality approach maintains realism while reducing overall computational load by processing only the relevant local acoustic characteristics.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for enabling audio transition between at least two acoustic environments, the apparatus including circuitry configured to: obtain information of at least a first acoustic environment associated with an audio scene, wherein the audio scene includes the first acoustic environment and a second acoustic environment; obtain a first distance threshold that at least partially defines an audio transition region that enables adaptive rendering between the first and second acoustic environments depending on a listening position within the audio scene; determine the listening position to adjust an environment characteristic of at least one of the first and second acoustic environments; and adjust the environment characteristic of at least one of the first and second acoustic environments depending on the listening position, wherein the environment characteristic is adaptively controlled within the audio scene.