Dual Wireless Audio Stream Transmission for Hearing Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing audio communication systems face limitations in transmission range and own-voice pickup quality due to small, lossy antennas in hearing devices and the large distance between the mouth and microphone, especially in noisy environments.
Innovation Solution
Implementing transmit diversity and reception diversity by having each audio transmitting device send two separate wireless audio streams, allowing receiving devices to select the best stream based on quality parameters, and using binaural beamforming and blind source separation algorithms to improve audio quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single wireless audio stream is transmitted from a hearing device, then power consumption is limited and antenna size remains small, but transmission range is insufficient and signal reliability deteriorates in noisy environments
Solution Approach 1:
The audio transmission is segmented into two separate wireless streams transmitted through different spatial paths (one from each ear). This segmentation allows the system to exploit spatial diversity, where at least one stream is likely to maintain reliable transmission even when the other is blocked or degraded, thereby improving overall transmission range and reliability without requiring a single high-power antenna
Solution Approach 2:
The receiving device merges the two transmitted audio streams by selecting the higher quality stream for each audio packet based on quality metrics. This combining strategy maximizes the utilization of available signal quality while maintaining manageable device complexity at the receiver side
2Measurement precision
If microphones are placed at the user's ear for own-voice pickup, then device complexity is minimized, but audio quality deteriorates due to large distance between mouth and microphone
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from a single-point microphone placement (at the ear) to a distributed spatial array (microphones at both ears). This dimensional change in microphone configuration enables the receiving device to utilize spatial information and select the optimal microphone signal that provides better own-voice pickup quality, effectively overcoming the distance limitation between mouth and ear-level microphones
3Reliability
If multiple wireless streams are transmitted for diversity, then transmission reliability improves, but power consumption and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system transmits multiple wireless streams but the receiving device performs partial processing by selecting only the higher quality stream for each audio packet rather than processing all streams equally. This partial action approach maintains improved signal reception quality while limiting the additional power consumption and processing requirements to only what is necessary for stream selection based on quality metrics
Data Source
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AI summary
The disclosure relates to an audio transmission method between at least two audio communication systems including a transmitting audio communication system (10) with first and second audio transmitting devices (12, 14) and a receiving audio communication system (20, 30, 40) with at least one audio receiving device (22, 24), and an audio communication network comprising the audio communication system (10) with the first and second audio transmitting devices (12, 14) and the audio communication system (10) with the at least one audio receiving device (22, 24). The method includes transmitting a first wireless audio stream, via a first wireless audio link, by the first audio transmitting device (12) and a second wireless audio stream, via a second wireless audio link, by the second audio transmitting device (14); and selecting, by the at least one audio receiving device (22, 24), one of the first wireless audio stream or the second wireless audio stream based on quality parameters of the first audio link and the second wireless audio link.