Circular Buffer Audio Dropout Prevention

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conference calls often experience audio dropout due to bandwidth congestion and high jitter ratios in intermediary networks, leading to lost audio portions that disrupt the meeting experience.

Innovation Solution

A computer-implemented method using circular buffers to detect and prevent audio dropout by replicating missing audio segments in real-time, leveraging speech-to-text and text-to-speech modules to generate and inject missing audio at appropriate points, ensuring seamless audio playback.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If audio packets are transmitted through intermediary networks with low throughput or high jitter ratios, then network coverage and accessibility are improved, but audio dropout occurs due to bandwidth congestion and packet loss

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenetwork coverageVSAvoidaudio continuity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by detecting audio dropout conditions before complete audio loss occurs, using circular buffers to store audio data in advance. When packet loss is detected, the system can immediately replay buffered audio segments, preventing the audio dropout from manifesting to users.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The circular buffer acts as a cushion that absorbs network jitter and packet loss. By maintaining a buffer of audio data, the system creates a protective layer that compensates for network instability, allowing audio playback to continue smoothly even when packets are lost during transmission.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #11Beforehand cushioning (Prior cushioning)

2Reliability

If circular buffers are used to detect and prevent audio dropout by replicating missing audio segments, then audio continuity is improved, but network overhead and processing complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaudio continuityVSAvoidprocessing complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system creates copies of audio data in circular buffers and generates synthetic replacements for lost audio segments. By copying audio characteristics and using text-to-speech to recreate missing segments, the system can replace lost audio without requiring complex real-time analysis, simplifying the overall processing while maintaining audio continuity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The system substitutes complex real-time audio reconstruction with a simpler mechanism: detecting packet loss, retrieving buffered audio data, and using pre-trained text-to-speech models to generate replacement segments. This replaces what would otherwise require complex real-time audio synthesis with more manageable data retrieval and synthesis operations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS11356492B2Preventing audio dropout

Publication Date: 2022.06.07 KYNDRYL INC

AI summary

Embodiments of the present invention provide methods, computer program products, and systems. Embodiments of the present invention detect an audio stream comprising one or more voice packets from a first computing system. Embodiments of the present invention can, in response to detecting an audio stream, dynamically prevent audio drop out on a second computing system using circular buffers based on network consistency.