Ear Image-Based HRTF Personalization for Fast Spatial Audio

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Generating personalized head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) for users is computationally expensive and requires complex audio sensor hardware, making it difficult to achieve accurate audio spatial localization.

Innovation Solution

Utilizing image data from a portable electronic device to capture ear images, applying machine learning models for feature detection and matching with a database of HRTFs, and performing operations like flipping, scaling, and orientation adjustment to generate customized HRTFs efficiently.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If traditional methods are used to generate personalized HRTFs, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and computational resources increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveHRTF accuracyVSAvoidaudio sensor hardware

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses 2D images of ears as copies instead of requiring complex audio sensor hardware. The system captures images of the user's ears, extracts anatomical features, and uses these visual copies to generate HRTFs, replacing the need for specialized measurement equipment while maintaining personalization accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

2Measurement precision

If traditional computational methods are used to generate HRTFs, then measurement precision is improved, but productivity decreases due to significant computational resource expenditure

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveHRTF accuracyVSAvoidHRTF generation speed

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces complex computational audio processing with a streamlined image processing pipeline. By substituting the mechanical/computational system (audio sensors and heavy calculations) with an image-based system, the method achieves faster HRTF generation while maintaining accuracy through efficient feature extraction and matching algorithms.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Device complexity

If a limited database is used for HRTF matching, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision decreases for novel users

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedatabase sizeVSAvoidHRTF matching accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent transforms ear images into standardized parameter representations through scaling, rotation, and feature extraction. This parameter transformation allows the system to match ears from novel users against the database by comparing key anatomical parameters rather than requiring exact image matches, thereby maintaining accuracy with a limited database size.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS12586235B2Systems and methods for head related transfer function personalization

Publication Date: 2026.03.24 CEVA INC

AI summary

A head-related transfer function (HRTF) generation system includes one or more processors configured to retrieve first image data of a first ear of a subject, compare the first image data with second image data of a plurality of second ears to identify a particular second ear of the plurality of second ears matching the first ear, identify a template HRTF associated with the particular second ear, and assign an HRTF to the subject based on the template HRTF.