Wireless Earphone Synchronization via Master-Slave Audio Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless earphones often experience synchronization issues due to the Haas effect, where audio played in both ears can become desynchronized, leading to an undesirable perception of distinct sounds when the arrival times of audio sources differ by more than 30 to 40 milliseconds.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system where one earphone acts as a master and the other as a slave, with the master earphone receiving digital audio data, retransmitting it, and sending synchronization data using connection-oriented and connectionless protocols respectively, to ensure synchronous audio playback within 30 milliseconds, and allowing the earphones to transition roles to balance power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If wireless earphones receive and play streaming digital audio independently, then each earphone can operate autonomously, but the audio playback becomes desynchronized causing the Haas effect
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the earphones into master and slave segments, where the master earphone receives audio independently and the slave earphone receives audio from the master, creating a hierarchical structure that ensures synchronization while maintaining overall system autonomy
Solution Approach 2:
The master earphone sends synchronization data (buffer status, playback position) to the slave earphone, creating a feedback mechanism that allows the slave to adjust its playback timing and maintain synchronous audio output
2Reliability
If one earphone continuously acts as master to maintain synchronization, then audio synchronization is maintained, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically transitions the master and slave roles between earphones over time, allowing each earphone to periodically serve as master and slave, which distributes the power consumption burden and extends overall battery life while maintaining synchronization
Solution Approach 2:
The earphones periodically transition roles as master and slave, creating a periodic pattern where each earphone alternates between receiving audio independently and receiving audio from the other, balancing power consumption across the battery life cycle
Data Source
AI summary
Electroacoustical speaker devices that synchronously play audio received from a source. In one embodiment, one speaker acts as the master and the other speaker acts as the slave. The master speaker receives digital audio data from a source and, in addition to playing the digital audio received from the source, the master speaker retransmits the digital audio to the slave speaker. The master speaker additionally sends synchronization data to the slave speaker, such as data that indicates the buffer status or playback position of the master speaker. The slave speaker utilizes the synchronization data from the master speaker to adjust, for example, its buffer status or playback position, so that the two speakers play the audio synchronously (e.g., within thirty milliseconds). In one embodiment, the master speaker uses a connection-oriented protocol, such as TCP/IP, to transmit buffered audio data to the slave speaker and uses a connectionless protocol, such as UDP or ICMP, for the synchronization data. In addition, the speakers may transition roles as master and slave.