Binaural Audio Processing with Specular-Diffuse Reflection Segmentation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing binaural audio rendering systems face challenges in computational complexity, requiring complex room geometric data that is hard to acquire, especially in augmented reality settings, leading to non-natural sound perception and increased latency, which is problematic for mobile and wearable devices.

Innovation Solution

An audio signal processor that separates single-channel acoustic data into direct sound, early reflection, and late reverberation parts, using specular and diffuse components to generate two-channel audio signals, distributing processing tasks across devices with varying power supplies, and employing psychoacoustic knowledge to reduce computational complexity and latency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If complex room geometric models are used to simulate room impulse responses, then the simulation effectiveness is improved, but the computational complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesimulation effectivenessVSAvoidcomputational complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the room impulse response into direct sound, early reflections, and late reverberation parts. Each segment is processed separately with different levels of complexity, allowing high-quality simulation of critical components while reducing overall computational burden through selective processing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

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 accurate spatial information, while the late reverberation uses more computationally efficient processing, optimizing the balance between quality and complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If high processing power is used to achieve accurate binaural rendering, then the audio quality is improved, but the device requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaudio qualityVSAvoidprocessing power requirements

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

By dividing the processing into segments (direct sound, early reflections, late reverberation), the patent enables mobile devices to handle the computationally intensive tasks through distributed processing, where less powerful devices can contribute to specific segments while more powerful devices handle others.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an intermediary processing layer that pre-computes or provides acoustic data for different environments, allowing mobile devices to retrieve and process this data rather than performing all computations locally, thus reducing device power requirements.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Reliability

If real-time processing is performed at high rates, then the externalization effect is improved, but the motion-to-sound latency increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveexternalization effectVSAvoidmotion-to-sound latency

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary processing of acoustic data and pre-computes room impulse responses for different environments, allowing the system to quickly retrieve and process pre-prepared data during real-time operation, thus maintaining low latency while achieving good externalization.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically adjusts processing rates and quality levels based on the current situation, using higher processing rates when needed for externalization and lower rates when latency is critical, optimizing both effects simultaneously.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

4Adaptability or versatility

If wireless transmission is used to connect processing devices, then the system flexibility is improved, but the transmission delay increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem flexibilityVSAvoidtransmission delay

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments processing tasks across multiple devices, allowing critical low-latency processing to occur locally on the audio player while less time-sensitive processing occurs on connected devices via wireless transmission, thus maintaining flexibility without significant delay penalty.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS20250254487A1Audio signal processor and related method and computer program for generating a two-channel audio signal using a specular part and a diffuse part

Publication Date: 2025.08.07 BRANDENBURG LABS GMBH

AI summary

Audio signal processor for generating a two-channel audio signal has: an input interface for providing single-channel acoustic data describing an acoustic environment; a two-channel synthesizer for synthesizing two-channel acoustic data from the single-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, and to individually process the at least two parts for generating two-channel acoustic data for each part, and wherein the two-channel synthesizer is configured to calculate the two-channel acoustic data for the early reflection part using a specular part describing distinct early reflections and a diffuse part describing a diffuse influence in the early reflection part.