Lighting Fixtures With Integrated Microphones For Voice Command Triangulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing standalone devices for sound-based operations face challenges in reliably recognizing sounds and voice commands, especially in noisy environments, and require inconvenient positioning for effective operation.
Innovation Solution
A system of interconnected lighting fixtures with integrated audio processing capabilities, including microphones and transmitters, that transmit and process digital audio streams to identify sounds and voice commands, enabling triangulation for accurate source location and noise cancellation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a standalone voice-based device is used, then the device can process voice commands, but the device requires positioning close to the person giving the command which is challenging and inconvenient
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the voice processing function across multiple distributed lighting fixtures rather than relying on a single standalone device. Each fixture contains a microphone and can independently capture audio, with results aggregated by a central processor. This segmentation eliminates the need for precise positioning of a single device while maintaining voice recognition capability.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple lighting fixtures are given multi-functionality by integrating audio processing capabilities into each fixture. The fixtures serve both their primary lighting function and a secondary voice detection function, allowing the system to process voice commands from various locations without requiring dedicated standalone devices.
2Reliability
If a standalone device is used for sound recognition, then the device can identify sounds, but the device struggles to reliably recognize sounds in noisy environments
Solution Approach 1:
The audio processing task is segmented and distributed across multiple lighting fixtures, each capturing audio from its local position. The central processor then integrates these segmented audio streams, comparing them to identify sounds while filtering out background noise through spatial analysis and correlation.
Solution Approach 2:
The central processor acts as an intermediary that receives audio streams from multiple distributed fixtures and performs coordinated processing. It mediates between the raw audio signals and the final sound identification, using the temporal and spatial relationships between signals from different fixtures to distinguish target sounds from ambient noise.
3Measurement precision
If multiple lighting fixtures with microphones are used, then the system can improve sound identification accuracy, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Existing lighting fixtures are made multi-functional by adding microphone and audio processing capabilities to each unit. This eliminates the need for separate dedicated audio sensors or devices, as the lighting infrastructure itself serves dual purposes, thereby reducing overall system complexity despite having multiple audio-capable units.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges the audio processing function with the lighting fixture infrastructure. The microphones, transmitters, and processing capabilities are combined into the lighting fixtures themselves, and the central processor integrates all inputs. This merging approach consolidates multiple functions into existing hardware rather than adding separate dedicated systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances the reliability of sound-based operations by accurately identifying sounds and voice commands, providing location-specific responses, and reducing ambient noise, allowing for more widespread and coordinated device control.
Implementation Method 1
a first microphone and a first transmitter. The first transmitter is configured to transmit a first digital audio stream generated based on a sound
Implementation Method 2
The first transmitter is configured to transmit a first digital audio stream generated based on a sound
Data Source
AI summary
A lighting system includes a first lighting fixture that includes a first microphone and a first transmitter. The first transmitter is configured to transmit a first digital audio stream generated based on a sound. The lighting system further includes a second lighting fixture that includes a second microphone and a second transmitter. The second transmitter is configured to transmit a second digital audio stream generated based on the sound, where the sound is received by the first microphone and by the second microphone. The lighting system also includes a central processor that can process the first digital audio stream and the second digital audio stream to identify the sound.