Azimuth Direction Finding Using Power Averaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current voice-controlled devices face inefficiencies in detecting and responding to spoken commands due to the high computational overhead and resource consumption in determining the azimuth of an acoustic signal source, particularly with large datasets generated by source localization algorithms like SRP.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution reduces computational burden by discarding or ignoring elevation data in candidate vectors, mapping candidate vectors to reference azimuth values, and calculating average or peak power values, allowing for faster and more efficient direction determination using a reduced set of data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If source localization algorithms like SRP are used to determine azimuth of acoustic signal source, then measurement precision is improved, but computational overhead and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and discards elevation data from candidate vectors, retaining only azimuth information. This extraction of necessary data while eliminating unnecessary components reduces computational overhead while maintaining azimuth determination accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the direction data processing by dividing candidate vectors into groups based on reference azimuth values. This segmentation allows for more efficient processing by handling data in manageable subsets rather than processing all candidate vectors individually.
2Measurement precision
If complete direction data including elevation is processed, then measurement precision is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes elevation data from the processing pipeline, extracting only the azimuth components needed for direction determination. This reduces the volume of data to be processed and eliminates unnecessary computational steps, thereby reducing processing time while maintaining azimuth accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by processing only the necessary azimuth data rather than complete direction data including elevation. This partial processing approach is sufficient for achieving the goal of azimuth determination without the time cost of processing all available data.
3Measurement precision
If large direction data sets are processed, then measurement precision is improved, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and discards unnecessary elevation information from large direction data sets, reducing the data volume that requires processing. This maintains the precision of azimuth determination while improving productivity by reducing the computational burden.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments large direction data sets into manageable groups associated with reference azimuth values, enabling more efficient processing. This segmentation allows the system to handle large data sets with improved productivity by processing data in organized subsets rather than as a monolithic block.
Data Source
AI summary
Devices, systems, and methods provide direction finding of an acoustic signal source with respect to a voice-controlled device. The direction can be found without using elevation data, instead determining the horizontal location based on power values of the received signal. A large number of candidate vectors having values for azimuth, elevation, and power may be generated by a steered response power algorithm. The large number of vectors is reduced to a small number of reference azimuths spanning an azimuth range by associating the vectors with the closest reference azimuth and then calculating an average and/or maximum power of the associated vectors at each reference azimuth. The reference azimuth with the highest average (or maximum) power may be set as the direction of the signal source. Alternatively, each reference azimuth having an average (or maximum) power exceeding a threshold may be considered a direction of one of multiple sources.