Hybrid Space Impulse Response for Seamless Audio Transitions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods of auralizing virtual environments fail to smoothly transition audio experiences when a user moves between different simulated environments, leading to audio artifacts such as comb filtering.
Innovation Solution
An audio system generates a hybrid space impulse response by blending the impulse responses of the source and destination environments, allowing for a smooth and artifact-free transition by encoding metadata associated with the audio signal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If crossfading audio of different environments during transition, then transition smoothness is improved, but audio artifacts such as comb filtering are introduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a hybrid space impulse response as an intermediary element that mediates between the source and destination environment impulse responses. This hybrid IR acts as a bridge, blending the acoustic characteristics of both environments in a controlled manner to achieve smooth transitions without the harmful comb filtering artifacts that would result from direct crossfading of complete audio signals.
2Reliability
If space impulse responses are blended to create hybrid response, then audio artifact-free transition is achieved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of audio processing from using complete audio signals to using space impulse responses (SIRs). By operating in the impulse response domain rather than the raw audio domain, the system achieves artifact-free transitions through parameter-level manipulation of acoustic characteristics while maintaining manageable computational complexity through efficient convolution operations.
Data Source
AI summary
An audio system and a method of providing a faded audio experience during a transition from a first audio experience to a second audio experience, is described. The first audio experience can include playback of an audio signal spatialized using a first space impulse response that is generated by the audio system. The second audio experience includes playback of the audio signal spatialized using a second space impulse response that is received by the audio system. The audio system generates a hybrid space impulse response based on the first space impulse response and the second space impulse response. During the transition between audio experiences, the hybrid space impulse response is used to spatialize the audio signal to create the faded audio experience. Other aspects are also described and claimed.