Bilateral Earpieces 3D Sound Field Spatial Localization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current earpieces fail to deliver a detailed three-dimensional sound field, limiting the audio experience by not distinguishing between sound sources from different sides, resulting in a lack of immersion and comfort in sound perception.
Innovation Solution
A bilateral earpieces system with sensors, such as accelerometers and pulse oximeters, processes sound signals to simulate sound origins from specific directions, altering amplitude, volume, and reverberation to create a 3D sound field, allowing users to select their point of view within a sound sphere.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If sound is delivered to each middle ear without detailed discrimination, then the system is simple, but the audio experience and spatial perception are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from conventional two-dimensional stereo sound (left-right channels) to three-dimensional spatial audio by incorporating vertical positioning and distance information. The system processes audio signals to create elevation cues and radial positioning, allowing sound to be perceived from above, below, and at varying distances, thus recovering lost spatial information without proportionally increasing system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system alters multiple sound parameters simultaneously including amplitude, phase, time delay, and frequency content to encode spatial information. By dynamically adjusting these parameters based on head position and orientation data from sensors, the system delivers differentiated audio signals to each ear that convey three-dimensional spatial cues, thereby recovering lost audio information through intelligent parameter manipulation
2Adaptability or versatility
If sound is processed to create three dimensional sound field, then the audio experience is enhanced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements multi-functionality by integrating several capabilities into a unified system: spatial sound field generation, head tracking via accelerometers, real-time signal processing, and adaptive audio delivery. The bilateral earpiece system simultaneously performs multiple functions (playing audio, tracking motion, processing signals, and delivering spatial sound) through a single integrated architecture, thereby achieving enhanced adaptability without proportionally increasing overall system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary processing layer between the audio source and the user's ears. This intermediate stage includes digital signal processors that receive raw audio, apply spatial algorithms based on sensor data, and generate differentiated output signals for each earpiece. This intermediary processing enables complex three-dimensional sound field creation while keeping the individual earpiece components relatively simple
3Reliability
If the user position in sound sphere is detected in real-time, then the immersion is enhanced, but the processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-calculating and storing transfer functions and spatial impulse responses for various head positions and orientations. Instead of computing complex spatial transformations in real-time during audio playback, the system prepares spatial audio data in advance based on sensor feedback, allowing for accurate sound localization without excessive real-time processing demands
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback loops where accelerometers and other sensors monitor head position and orientation in real-time, and this feedback is fed back to the signal processing algorithms. The processing system continuously adjusts the spatial audio parameters based on the feedback data, maintaining accurate sound localization while using efficient algorithms that balance reliability with processing efficiency
Data Source
AI summary
A set of wireless earpieces includes a left wireless earpiece comprising an earpiece housing sized and shaped to fit into an external auditory canal of a user, a speaker disposed within the earpiece and positioned to transduce audio towards a tympanic membrane associated with the external auditory canal of the user, a right wireless earpiece comprising an earpiece housing sized and shaped to fit into an external auditory canal of a user, a speaker disposed within the earpiece and positioned to transduce audio towards a tympanic membrane associated with the external auditory canal of the user, and wherein the left earpiece and the right earpiece are adapted to process sound in order to alter perception of the sound to match a pre-determined point of view for the user.