Nose Pad Contact Microphone for Smart Glasses Audio
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current wearable technologies, such as smart glasses, face challenges in achieving a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for audio input due to environmental factors like wind noise and ambient background noise, which degrades audio quality and reduces accuracy in voice command detection and communication.
Innovation Solution
Integration of a contact microphone into the nose pad of smart glasses, utilizing bone conduction to detect vibrations from the user's facial bones and convert them into electrical signals, which are then processed to enhance audio data and reduce noise interference.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional air-conduction microphones are used in smart glasses, then the device structure remains simple, but audio input quality deteriorates due to wind noise and ambient background noise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional air-conduction microphone (acoustic field detection) with a contact microphone that detects bone vibrations (mechanical field detection). This substitution allows the system to capture voice signals through bone conduction, effectively avoiding wind noise and ambient background noise that affect air-conduction microphones, thereby resolving the technical contradiction between maintaining simple device structure and improving audio input quality under harmful environmental factors.
2Reliability
If contact microphone is integrated into the nose pad, then audio input quality improves by reducing noise interference, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the contact microphone with the existing nose pad structure of smart glasses, integrating the sound detection function into a component that is already in direct contact with the user's face. This merging approach allows the system to improve signal-to-noise ratio through bone conduction detection while avoiding the need for additional separate components, thereby resolving the technical contradiction between improving reliability and reducing device complexity.
3Measurement precision
If bone conduction detection is used, then voice command detection accuracy improves, but the device requires more sophisticated signal processing capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the voice signal detection function from the general audio input system and implements it specifically through the contact microphone in the nose pad. By dedicating a specific component (contact microphone) to a specific function (bone conduction voice detection), the system achieves high measurement precision for voice command detection while keeping the overall device architecture relatively simple, as the contact microphone naturally filters out ambient noise before signal processing is required.
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
This solution significantly improves audio input quality by reducing wind and ambient noise, enabling clearer voice transmission and voice recognition, even in challenging environments, and allows for whisper mode interactions, enhancing user privacy and device usability.
Implementation Method 1
utilizing bone conduction to detect vibrations from the user's facial bones and convert them into electrical signals
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatuses, systems, and methods for detecting sound via a wearable device are described herein. An example system may include a pair of glasses that include a nose pad that, when the pair of glasses are worn by a user, contacts a portion of a nose of the user at a contact point and a vibration sensor, included in the nose pad. The vibration sensor may be configured to receive vibrations produced by the user via the contact point, and convert the received vibrations into an electrical signal representative of the received vibrations. The system may also include a control device configured to receive the electrical signal, and convert the electrical signal into digital audio data. Various other apparatuses, systems, and methods are described herein.