Incident Recording Audio Alteration for Privacy

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Incident recording devices capture communication audio inadvertently, compromising privacy and security by recording sensitive communications during incidents.

Innovation Solution

A system and method for altering communication audio captured by incident recording devices, where a communication activation signal detects communication audio and alters it to prevent recording, using techniques like muting, reducing volume, or distorting the audio to maintain privacy and security.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If incident recording devices capture all audio during incidents, then comprehensive incident documentation is achieved, but privacy and security are compromised due to inadvertent recording of sensitive communications

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveincident documentation completenessVSAvoidprivacy and security compromise

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts communication audio from the captured audio stream by detecting communication activation signals. Once communication audio is identified, it is separated and altered (mutted, volume reduced, or distorted) while non-communication audio remains unchanged, thus removing the harmful element while preserving useful information.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system applies different processing qualities to different portions of the audio stream. Communication audio segments are altered to protect privacy, while non-communication audio segments maintain their original quality for accurate incident documentation. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between comprehensive documentation and privacy protection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Object-affected harmful factors

If communication audio is altered in real-time to protect privacy, then privacy and security are maintained, but device complexity increases due to audio detection and processing requirements

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprivacy and security protectionVSAvoidaudio processing system complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses the existing communication activation signal that is already present in the audio stream to trigger the altering process. The communication audio itself provides the detection mechanism, eliminating the need for separate detection hardware or complex algorithms. The audio stream serves both as the input and the trigger signal.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Measurement precision

If all audio is captured without alteration, then accurate incident recording is achieved, but sensitive communication data is exposed

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveincident recording accuracyVSAvoidsensitive data exposure

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS11586414B2Altering communications captured by an incident recording device

Publication Date: 2023.02.21 AXON ENTERPRISE INC

AI summary

Systems and methods for altering communications captured by an incident recording device are provided. An incident recording may be captured by a recording device. The incident recording may comprise audio data. A communication activation signal may be detected by the recording device. The communication activation signal may be followed by communication audio data and the communication audio data may be captured in the audio data. Based on detecting the communication activation signal, the recording device may alter the audio data of the incident recording to at least partially alter the communication audio data captured in the audio data.