Bluetooth Audio Latency Reduction via FEC and BTC-BTLE Hybrid Frames
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless audio transmission technologies experience significant latency, which is unacceptable for applications requiring real-time audio reproduction, such as gaming and virtual reality, due to factors like retransmission of audio packets and complex encoding/decoding processes.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of time-efficient audio coding and decoding, reduced retransmissions, and the combination of Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth Low Energy packets within a single frame to minimize latency, along with forward error correction and packet loss concealment using Reed-Solomon codes, to achieve ultra-low latency audio transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional wireless audio transmission is used, then reliability is maintained through retransmission mechanisms, but latency increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the error correction parameters by switching from traditional retransmission-based mechanisms to forward error correction (FEC) with Reed-Solomon codes. This parameter change allows the system to maintain reliability through error correction rather than retransmission, thereby reducing latency while preserving audio packet delivery reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes the retransmission mechanism from the traditional wireless audio transmission system. By taking out the retransmission component and replacing it with FEC-based error correction, the system eliminates the source of latency while maintaining reliability through forward error correction and packet loss concealment techniques.
2Manufacturing precision
If complex encoding and decoding processes are used, then audio quality is improved, but processing time and latency increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the encoding parameter by using forward error correction (FEC) with Reed-Solomon codes instead of traditional compression-based encoding. This parameter change reduces the complexity and processing time of encoding/decoding operations while maintaining audio quality through efficient error correction rather than complex compression algorithms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs packet loss concealment (PLC) as a simpler, more efficient alternative to complex error correction mechanisms. PLC provides a lightweight solution for handling lost packets without requiring complex processing, thereby reducing encoding/decoding time while maintaining acceptable audio quality.
3Reliability
If retransmission of audio packets is implemented, then data integrity is ensured, but real-time audio reproduction is impaired
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the retransmission mechanism from the audio transmission system. By taking out the retransmission component and replacing it with forward error correction (FEC) and packet loss concealment (PLC), the system ensures data integrity through error correction rather than retransmission, thereby enabling real-time audio reproduction without the delays caused by retransmission waits.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies forward error correction (FEC) as a preliminary action that corrects errors in advance rather than waiting for retransmission. By preparing error correction codes before transmission and applying them proactively, the system maintains data integrity without the need for subsequent retransmission operations that would delay real-time audio reproduction.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus for communicating audio packets with ultra-low latency at high data rates from an audio source device to one or more audio output devices over a wireless personal area network (WPAN) connection, such as via a Bluetooth connection. Latency is reduced by using time-efficient audio coding and decoding, limited retransmissions, reduced time and frequency of acknowledgements, and by combining Bluetooth Classic (BTC) packets for downlink audio and downlink control with Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE) packets for uplink control, uplink acknowledgements, and inter-device wireless communication. The number of retransmissions and packet concealments per frame cycle can be limited to an upper threshold number to satisfy a low latency requirement.