Distributed Audio Capture Mixing Spatial Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for capturing and mixing audio signals from multiple sources in a spatial environment require significant manual effort and are not flexible, making them time-consuming and difficult for end-users to modify.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method utilizing a processor to receive spatial audio signals from a microphone array and additional audio signals, aligning them through variable delay, and generating output audio channel signals based on relative positions to enhance perception and spatial positioning, allowing for user-defined orientations and binaural rendering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual mixing of audio signals is used to achieve spatial positioning, then audio quality can be maintained, but significant time and effort are required
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automatic audio signal mixing by utilizing the microphone array's own spatial information and position data to perform time alignment and mixing operations without requiring external manual intervention. The processor automatically determines relative positions and performs the mixing based on captured spatial data.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical mixing process with an automated electronic processing system. The processor uses algorithms to automatically perform time alignment, position determination, and audio signal mixing, substituting the manual mechanical operations with electronic automation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If professional manual mixing is used to create spatial audio, then audio quality is maintained, but flexibility for user modification is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically performs mixing operations using the captured spatial information, enabling users to modify the audio scene by simply changing position parameters without requiring knowledge of audio mixing techniques. The system serves itself by automatically adjusting the mix based on spatial data.
3Measurement precision
If close microphones are used to capture audio signals, then speech intelligibility is improved, but spatial positioning becomes difficult to adjust
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the spatial positioning of audio signals based on the determined relative positions of microphones and sound sources. The mixing parameters are not fixed but are dynamically calculated and adjusted according to the captured spatial information, allowing flexible repositioning without physical movement of microphones.
4Manufacturing precision
If multiple microphones are used to capture spatial audio, then spatial reproduction quality is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the audio processing task by separating the spatial capture function (performed by the microphone array) from the mixing function (performed by the processor). This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, managing overall system complexity while maintaining high spatial reproduction quality.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus including a processor configured to: receive a spatial audio signal associated with a microphone array configured to provide spatial audio capture and at least one additional audio signal associated with an additional microphone, the at least one additional microphone signal having been delayed by a variable delay determined such that the audio signals are time aligned; receive a relative position between a first position associated with the microphone array and a second position associated with the additional microphone; generate at least two output audio channel signals by processing and mixing the spatial audio signal and the at least one additional audio signal based on the relative position between the first position and the second position such that the at least two output audio channel signals present an augmented audio scene.