Reverberation Rendering for External Audio Sources
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for rendering reverberation in virtual and augmented reality environments face challenges in efficiently calculating and processing sound source energy contributions through acoustic portals, leading to high computational complexity and unrealistic audio experiences due to the lack of efficient gain coefficient calculation and delay adjustment for sound sources from neighboring environments.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves configuring a digital reverberator with acoustic parameters and model parameters, such as polynomial coefficients, to calculate gain values for energy propagation through acoustic portals, reducing computational complexity and maintaining a compact bitstream size by offloading calculations to the encoder, and applying directivity filters based on sound source orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If current methods are used to calculate and process sound source energy contributions through acoustic portals, then accurate reverberation rendering is achieved, but computational complexity increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-calculates and stores gain coefficients in a lookup table during an encoding phase, so that during real-time playback, the system only needs to retrieve pre-computed values rather than performing complex calculations. This preliminary action transfers computational burden from the playback device to the encoding stage, resolving the contradiction between rendering accuracy and computational complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a simplified model (lookup table with pre-computed gain coefficients) that copies the essential characteristics of the complex acoustic portal energy propagation physics. Instead of simulating the full physical process in real-time, the system uses this copied representation stored in compact form, maintaining accuracy while dramatically reducing computational requirements.
2Reliability
If detailed calculations for external sound sources are performed, then realistic audio experience is achieved, but bitstream size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential parameters needed for realistic audio rendering (gain coefficients and delay values) and stores them in a compact lookup table format. By taking out only the critical information rather than transmitting or storing complete acoustic models, the system maintains audio realism while keeping bitstream size manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms complex continuous acoustic field calculations into discrete parameter representations (gain coefficients indexed by sound source position and acoustic portal). This parameterization changes the representation from detailed continuous functions to compact discrete values, reducing data size while preserving the ability to reconstruct realistic audio experiences.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for generating reverberant audio signals, the method comprising: obtaining at least one reverberation parameter associated with a first acoustic environment; obtaining at least one audio source located at at least one position outside of the first acoustic environment, the at least one audio source having an associated audio signal; generating at least one parameter for the at least one position of the at least one audio source, related to energy propagation for the at least one audio source; and generating a reverberated audio signal associated with the at least one audio source based on the at least one parameter to adjust the level of the associated audio signal.