Multi-Speaker Audio Rendering With Dynamic Activation Criteria
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing audio rendering systems for smart audio devices, particularly in consumer environments, lack flexibility and fail to dynamically adapt to changing conditions, such as speaker placement and user interactions, limiting their spatial audio capabilities and usability.
Innovation Solution
A method for rendering audio that incorporates dynamically configurable speaker activation terms, including proximity, attracting/repelling forces, audibility, speaker capabilities, synchronization, wakeword performance, and echo canceller performance, to optimize spatial rendering and improve audio playback in environments with arbitrarily placed smart speakers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If existing audio rendering systems are used with fixed speaker activation, then spatial audio playback is achieved, but flexibility and adaptability to changing conditions are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic speaker activation by continuously monitoring environmental conditions (user presence, audio content type, spatial requirements) and adjusting speaker activation status in real-time. The system transitions from static to dynamic configuration, allowing the audio rendering system to adapt to changing conditions such as user movement, content changes, and spatial requirements without manual intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes activation parameters of speakers based on detected conditions. By modifying parameters such as activation threshold, spatial distribution, and volume allocation dynamically, the system achieves adaptability while maintaining manageable complexity through automated parameter adjustment based on sensor input.
2Adaptability or versatility
If dynamically configurable speaker activation terms are added, then spatial rendering flexibility is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rendering system is segmented into independent activation criteria modules, each handling a specific aspect (proximity-based activation, audio-content-based activation, spatial-based activation). This segmentation allows the system to achieve high spatial rendering flexibility by combining multiple simple criteria rather than implementing one complex system, thereby managing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs a universal rendering engine that can handle multiple activation criteria and spatial configurations through a single integrated framework. This multi-functional approach allows the same core system to support various rendering modes and environmental conditions without requiring separate dedicated systems for each function, thus improving flexibility while controlling complexity.
3Ease of operation
If multiple activation criteria are implemented, then speaker placement flexibility is improved, but setup complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-configuration by automatically detecting speaker positions, identifying optimal activation criteria, and adjusting rendering parameters without user intervention. The activation system self-adjusts based on environmental sensors and audio content, eliminating the need for manual setup configurations and thereby improving placement flexibility while reducing setup complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where environmental sensors and audio analysis continuously provide information about the current state, which is then used to automatically adjust speaker activation. This closed-loop feedback system enables flexible speaker placement while simplifying setup, as the system autonomously optimizes configuration based on real-time conditions without requiring manual setup procedures.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods for rendering audio for playback by two or more speakers are disclosed. The audio includes one or more audio signals, each with an associated intended perceived spatial position. Relative activation of the speakers may be a cost function of a model of perceived spatial position of the audio signals when played back over the speakers, a measure of proximity of the intended perceived spatial position of the audio signals to positions of the speakers, and one or more additional dynamically configurable functions. The dynamically configurable functions may be based on at least one or more properties of the audio signals, one or more properties of the set of speakers and/or one or more external inputs.