Binaural Listening System Spatial Audio Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wireless transmission of audio signals in binaural listening systems lacks directional cues, making it difficult for users to determine the spatial location of sound sources, which is particularly challenging in real-time communication scenarios and for individuals with hearing impairments.
Innovation Solution
A binaural listening system that aligns wirelessly transmitted audio signals with acoustically propagated signals by adjusting delays in each earpiece to replicate the time difference of arrival, using alignment units and head-related transfer functions to provide spatial cues, thereby enhancing the perception of sound source directionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If audio signals are wirelessly transmitted to binaural listening devices, then convenience and mobility are improved, but spatial directional information is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary processing system that receives the wireless audio signal and adds spatial directional information through virtual binaural processing. This intermediary layer synthesizes artificial spatial cues that mimic natural sound localization, allowing the wireless transmission to maintain convenience while recovering the lost directional information through signal processing mediation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the audio signal parameters by applying head-related transfer functions (HRTF) that encode spatial directional information into the wireless audio stream. By changing the temporal and spectral parameters of the audio signal to include interaural time differences and spectral cues, the system preserves spatial information that would otherwise be lost in conventional wireless transmission.
2Loss of information
If audio signals are acoustically propagated to listening devices, then spatial directional information is preserved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/acoustic propagation path with an electronic signal processing system. Instead of relying on physical acoustic waves to carry spatial information, the system uses digital signal processing to synthesize and inject spatial cues into the wireless audio stream, substituting complex acoustic physics with computable electronic transformations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the acoustic spatial experience by applying pre-computed head-related transfer functions to the wireless audio signal. This copying approach replicates the effect of acoustic propagation without requiring the physical presence of sound waves, thereby reducing the complexity of the actual acoustic system while preserving spatial perception.
3Loss of information
If delay alignment is applied to wirelessly transmitted audio signals, then spatial perception is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs delay alignment and spatial processing in advance, before the audio signal is transmitted wirelessly. By pre-computing the appropriate delays and applying head-related transfer functions during the encoding phase, the system eliminates the need for real-time processing during playback, thereby maintaining spatial perception accuracy without adding processing time delays.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements efficient real-time processing algorithms that rapidly compute and apply spatial transformations to the audio signal. By using optimized computational methods and pre-stored impulse response data, the system rushes through the processing steps quickly enough that the added processing time is imperceptible to the user, thus improving spatial perception without noticeable time loss.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively provides spatial information to users, improving the understanding of audio signals in dynamic environments and facilitating easier conversation by accurately conveying the relative position of audio sources, even when the user moves or turns their head.
Implementation Method 1
each comprising an input transducer for converting received propagated first and second acoustic signals to first and second propagated electric signals
Implementation Method 2
each comprising a wireless receiver for receiving the wirelessly transmitted signal and for retrieving a first and second streamed target audio signal
Data Source
AI summary
A binaural listening system comprises first and second listening devices adapted for being located at or in left and right ears, respectively, of a user, the binaural listening system being adapted for receiving a wirelessly transmitted signal comprising a target signal and an acoustically propagated signal comprising the target signal as modified by respective first and second acoustic propagation paths from an audio source to the first and second listening devices. Spatial information is provided to an audio signal streamed to a pair of listening devices of a binaural listening system. The first and second listening devices each comprise an alignment unit for aligning the first and second streamed target audio signals with the first and second propagated electric signals in the first and second listening devices, respectively, to provide first and second aligned streamed target audio signals in the first and second listening devices, respectively.