Mixed-order ambisonics audio for VR field of view optimization
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing virtual reality (VR) systems do not customize audio playback to suit a user's field of view (FoV), leading to inefficient use of computing resources and lack of directional audio precision.
Innovation Solution
A system that selects and streams mixed-order ambisonic representations of a soundfield based on the user's steering angle, providing fully directional audio for objects within the FoV and less directional audio for objects outside, using multiple representations of the soundfield stored on a device and tracking the user's FoV to optimize audio data transmission and playback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multiple representations of soundfield are stored and selected based on steering angle, then directional audio precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The soundfield representation is segmented into multiple orders (e.g., first order, second order, third order ambisonics) with different directional precision characteristics. The system stores and selects from these segmented representations based on the user's field of view requirements, allowing high precision directional audio where needed while using simpler representations elsewhere, thus managing device complexity through structured organization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically selects which soundfield representation to play back based on real-time tracking of the user's steering angle and field of view. The processor adapts the audio rendering order according to the current viewing conditions, transitioning between different levels of complexity as needed, which resolves the contradiction between maintaining high precision and managing overall system complexity.
2Reliability
If computing resources are allocated to process all soundfield representations, then audio quality is improved, but computing resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of processing all possible soundfield representations at full complexity, the system applies partial action by selecting and processing only the necessary order of ambisonic data corresponding to the user's current field of view. This ensures adequate audio quality for the active viewing area while avoiding the excessive computational cost of processing entire high-order representations when not needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies different processing qualities to different spatial regions based on the user's field of view. High-order ambisonic processing is applied locally to regions within the user's FoV where directional audio is needed, while lower-order or no processing is applied to regions outside the FoV, thereby reducing overall computing resource consumption while maintaining audio quality where it matters.
3Measurement precision
If full directional audio is provided for all audio objects, then audio localization precision is improved, but bandwidth and storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies full directional audio processing only to audio objects located within the user's field of view, while using simplified or no processing for objects outside the FoV. This local quality approach maintains high audio localization precision for relevant objects while significantly reducing the overall quantity of audio data that must be stored and transmitted.
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts and processes only the necessary portions of the soundfield representations corresponding to the user's field of view. By taking out and processing only the relevant angular segments of the soundfield rather than the complete spherical representation, the system achieves precise audio localization for in-view objects while reducing bandwidth and storage requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
An example device includes a memory configured to store a plurality of representations of a soundfield, each representation of the soundfield comprising a different set of ambisonic coefficients representative of the same soundfield at concurrent periods of time. The device also includes a processor, coupled to the memory, and the processor is configured to perform audio playback based on a field of view and on a particular representation of the soundfield from the plurality of representations.