Concurrent Audio Playback Interface for Low-Input Media Switching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing techniques for providing auditory features on electronic devices are cumbersome, inefficient, and require excessive user input, wasting time and device energy, particularly in battery-operated devices.
Innovation Solution
Faster and more efficient methods and interfaces for providing auditory features, reducing the number of inputs required and conserving power by using improved visual feedback and conditional operations without additional user input.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If video content is displayed on a screen, then visual information is transmitted to users, but users with visual impairments cannot access this information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system consisting of audio spectrum analysis software and audio output devices that convert visual video content into audible spectral representations. This intermediary translates the visual information into an alternative sensory modality, enabling users with visual impairments to access video content through sound frequency analysis and visualization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the visual-mechanical display system with an auditory-based system. Instead of relying on visual perception of screen content, the system substitutes visual information with audio signals that represent the spectral composition of video content, allowing users to perceive visual information through hearing rather than sight.
2Loss of information
If audio spectrum analysis software is used to analyze video content, then spectral information is extracted and made accessible, but the software requires significant processing resources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential spectral information from video content that is relevant to user perception, rather than processing and transmitting all visual data. By identifying and extracting key frequency components that represent the visual content's spectral characteristics, the system reduces processing requirements while maintaining information fidelity for users with visual impairments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms video content from the visual domain into the auditory domain by changing the representation parameters. Instead of processing visual pixels and colors, the system converts content into audio frequency spectra, utilizing different physical parameters (sound frequencies) to represent the same informational content, thereby reducing processing complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If video content is converted to audio spectrum representation, then accessibility is improved for visually impaired users, but the original visual information is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates an auditory copy or representation of visual video content rather than replacing the original. The audio spectrum analysis generates a parallel representation of the video's spectral characteristics that can be perceived through hearing, preserving the informational content in an alternative format without destroying the source material.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the video content accessible through multiple sensory channels by creating both visual and auditory representations. The system enables the same content to be accessed through different modalities (sight and sound), providing universal access for users with different sensory capabilities while maintaining the original visual format for those who can see.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present disclosure generally relates to providing auditory features. An example method includes, at a computer system in communication with one or more input devices: while playing an audio media item of a first type, receiving, via the one or more input devices, a request to play an audio media item of a second type; in accordance with a determination that a set of concurrent audio criteria is satisfied, concurrently playing: the audio media item of the first type; and the audio media item of the second type; and in accordance with a determination that the set of concurrent audio criteria is not satisfied: ceasing to play the audio media item of the first type; and playing the audio media item of the second type.