Device Selection for Collaborative Audio Quality
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Solution Overview
Problem
In collaborative environments, such as virtual meetings and conference rooms, the use of multiple devices can lead to sound interference and compromised sound quality due to echo and inconsistent audio signals, especially when participants are at different distances from microphones. Additionally, devices may have varying specifications, power availability, and background programs that can cause delays or inconsistencies in audio and video signals.
Innovation Solution
A method for selecting one or more local devices in a collaborative environment setting based on the quality of specific system characteristics such as microphone quality, speaker quality, video capture quality, and power availability. The system identifies devices with the highest quality characteristics and selects them for specific functions, while disabling other devices from performing these functions to minimize interference and ensure optimal sound quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple devices are used by participants in a collaborative environment, then each participant can access the meeting independently, but sound quality deteriorates due to echo and inconsistent audio signals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a central controller as an intermediary device that manages and coordinates audio-visual functions across multiple participant devices. The controller receives audio signals from selected microphones, processes them centrally, and distributes them to appropriate speakers, thereby preventing direct echo loops between devices while maintaining flexible participant access.
Solution Approach 2:
The central controller is designed to perform multiple functions including microphone selection, speaker management, audio signal processing, and device coordination. This single multi-functional device replaces the need for each participant device to independently handle all audio-visual functions, reducing overall system complexity while improving sound quality control.
2Ease of operation
If each participant uses their own device with microphone and speakers, then individual device autonomy is maintained, but sound quality becomes inconsistent especially for participants at different distances from microphones
Solution Approach 1:
The central controller acts as an intermediary that standardizes audio capture by selecting microphones based on participant location and acoustic conditions. It processes all audio signals centrally and distributes them uniformly to all participants, ensuring consistent sound quality regardless of physical distance from any particular microphone.
Solution Approach 2:
The system assigns different roles to different devices based on their capabilities and locations. The central controller identifies which participant devices have suitable microphones or speakers for specific functions, optimizing local resource utilization while maintaining overall system consistency through centralized coordination.
3Manufacturing precision
If a central audio-visual system is used in the meeting room, then sound quality can be standardized, but the system complexity increases and the meeting cannot proceed if the central system fails
Solution Approach 1:
The central controller is designed as a multi-functional device that handles microphone selection, speaker management, audio processing, and device coordination. By consolidating these functions into a single controller rather than requiring separate systems for each function, the overall system complexity is reduced while maintaining standardized sound quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The system includes backup mechanisms where participant devices can serve as fallback audio sources if the central controller or its selected microphones fail. The controller monitors device availability and can dynamically switch to alternative devices, providing redundancy without requiring a complete backup central system.
4Manufacturing precision
If devices with higher specifications are used, then audio and video quality improve, but device compatibility and ease of integration with other lower-specification devices decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The central controller serves as an intermediary that standardizes communication between devices of varying specifications. It manages data exchange protocols, coordinates resource allocation, and ensures that high-specification devices can share their superior audio-visual capabilities with the group while maintaining compatibility with lower-specification participant devices through unified control interfaces.
Data Source
AI summary
For each device in a collaborative environment, qualities of system characteristics are determined. Based on the respective qualities of each device, a subset of devices is identified, including at least one device having a highest first quality and at least one device having a highest second quality, each corresponding to a different system characteristic. One or more devices from the subset of devices are then selected, based on the first quality and the second quality of each device of the subset of devices, to perform a function associated with the respective system characteristic.