Mixed-Order Ambisonics Encoding for Low-Latency Spatial Audio

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional ambisonics techniques for wearable devices consume excessive computational resources and cause processing latency, especially when handling multiple sound sources, which is undesirable for immersive spatial audio applications.

Innovation Solution

Implementing saliency-based mixed-order ambisonics encoding, where higher-order encodings are used for more relevant sound sources and lower-order encodings for less relevant sources, determined by gaze and field of view tracking, to conserve resources and reduce latency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If higher-order ambisonics encoding is used for all sound sources, then spatial audio quality is improved, but computational resource consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvespatial audio qualityVSAvoidcomputational resource consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies different ambisonics encoding orders to different sound sources based on their relevance to the user's field of view. Sound sources within the field of view receive higher-order encoding for better spatial quality, while those outside receive lower-order encoding to conserve computational resources. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by optimizing quality only where needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically changes the encoding order parameter based on the relevance of each sound source. By adjusting the ambisonics order parameter according to field of view tracking data, the system adapts computational resource allocation to match actual user needs, improving efficiency without sacrificing necessary audio quality.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Measurement precision

If higher-order ambisonics encoding is used for all sound sources, then spatial audio quality is improved, but processing latency increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvespatial audio qualityVSAvoidprocessing latency

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies higher computational processing only to sound sources within the user's field of view that require accurate spatial representation. Sound sources outside the field of view are processed with lower computational intensity, reducing overall processing latency while maintaining quality where it matters most to the user experience.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs full higher-order ambisonics encoding only partially - specifically for sound sources that are relevant to the user's current view. This partial application of the computationally intensive process reduces total processing time and latency while maintaining audio quality for the most important sound sources.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Measurement precision

If uniform high-order encoding is applied to multiple sound sources, then audio quality is maintained, but battery consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaudio qualityVSAvoidbattery consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSUse of energy by stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements energy-efficient processing by applying high-order encoding only to sound sources within the user's field of view. This localized approach to quality maintenance significantly reduces battery consumption compared to uniform high-order encoding of all sound sources, while preserving audio quality for relevant sounds.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

4Productivity

If saliency-based mixed-order encoding is implemented, then computational efficiency is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecomputational efficiencyVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments sound sources into different categories based on their relevance to the user's field of view. By dividing sound sources into those within the field of view and those outside, the system can apply different encoding strategies to each segment, improving computational efficiency while managing complexity through structured classification.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces field of view tracking data as an intermediary that mediates between sound source identification and encoding order selection. This intermediary layer provides the basis for saliency-based decision-making, enabling computational efficiency improvements while organizing system complexity through a clear intermediate classification step.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS12494214B2Saliency-based mixed-order ambisonics encoding of multiple sound sources for immersive spatial audio

Publication Date: 2025.12.09 GOOGLE LLC

AI summary

Described techniques enable the use of ambisonics encoding/decoding for spatially accurate sound reproduction that is low-latency and that conserves computational and battery resources. Different sounds sources may be encoded using different ambisonics encoding orders, with higher order encoding being used to process sound from a sound source of current attention of a user, and lower order encoding being used to process other sound sources, such as background sound sources.