Dynamic Audio Rendering for Spatial Boundaries in XR
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing computer-mediated reality systems face challenges in providing an adequately immersive auditory experience, particularly in ensuring accurate localization of audio content, which is crucial for a realistically immersive experience as the visual experience improves.
Innovation Solution
The system employs ambisonic coefficients to represent soundfields in three dimensions, enabling accurate 3D localization of sound sources, and uses metadata or other indications to configure audio rendering based on a listener's location relative to a boundary, allowing for flexible rendering complexity to balance immersion and resource consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If high complexity audio rendering is used to provide accurate 3D localization and immersive auditory experience, then the immersive experience is improved, but processor cycles, memory, and bandwidth consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter of audio rendering complexity based on the listener's location relative to a boundary. When the listener is inside the boundary, high complexity rendering with accurate 3D localization is applied. When outside, low complexity rendering is used. This dynamic parameter adjustment resolves the contradiction by applying computational resources only where needed for immersion.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different rendering qualities to different spatial regions. High quality audio rendering is localized to the interior region (inside the boundary) where users expect immersive experience, while exterior regions use lower quality rendering. This local differentiation maintains immersion where critical while reducing overall computational burden.
2Productivity
If audio rendering complexity is reduced to decrease processor cycles and memory consumption, then resource efficiency is improved, but the immersive experience and audio localization accuracy deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically changes the rendering complexity parameter based on spatial location. By using a boundary condition (inside/outside), the system switches between high complexity (for immersion) and low complexity (for efficiency) rendering modes, achieving both resource efficiency and immersive experience where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The spatial environment is segmented into two regions by a boundary: interior region requiring high fidelity rendering for immersion, and exterior region using efficient low fidelity rendering. This segmentation allows the system to optimize resource usage while preserving immersive experience in the critical interior zone.
3Adaptability or versatility
If metadata is used to configure audio rendering based on listener location, then rendering flexibility is improved, but data processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses metadata to control rendering parameters (complexity level) based on listener location relative to a boundary. This parameter-based control provides flexibility in adapting to different spatial contexts while keeping the implementation relatively simple through straightforward conditional logic based on location data.
Data Source
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AI summary
A device may be configured to process one or more audio streams in accordance with the techniques described herein. The device may comprise: one or more processors and a memory. The one or more processors may be configured to obtain an indication of a boundary separating an interior area from an exterior area, and obtain a listener location indicative of a location of the device relative to the interior area. The one or more processors may be configured to obtain, based on the boundary and the listener location, a current renderer as either an interior renderer configured to render audio data for the interior area or an exterior renderer configured to render the audio data for the exterior area, and apply, to the audio data, the current renderer to obtain one or more speaker feeds. The memory may be configured to store the one or more speaker feeds.