Occlusion-Aware Audio Rendering with Selective Diffraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing audio signal processing systems face challenges in efficiently rendering object-based audio services, particularly in reducing computational load while maintaining spatial audio reproduction quality, especially when line-of-sight occlusions occur.
Innovation Solution
An audio signal processing apparatus and method that determines line-of-sight visibility between render items and listeners, performing diffraction path finding only when necessary, thereby reducing computational load by generating diffraction-type RIs only when direct rendering is not possible.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If diffraction path finding is performed for all audio elements, then spatial audio rendering accuracy is improved, but computational load increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by performing diffraction path finding only for audio elements where the line of sight is occluded, rather than for all audio elements. The processor determines line-of-sight visibility first, and only generates diffraction-type RIs when needed, thus reducing unnecessary computational operations while maintaining rendering accuracy where it matters most
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by applying different processing strategies to different audio elements based on their line-of-sight visibility status. Visible audio elements undergo simple rendering, while occluded elements receive the computationally intensive diffraction path finding treatment, optimizing computational resources according to local spatial conditions
2Reliability
If diffraction-type RIs are generated for occluded audio elements, then spatial audio realism is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by determining line-of-sight visibility before performing diffraction path finding. The processor uses bitstream information to pre-assess which audio elements are occluded, allowing it to prepare and execute diffraction processing only for those specific elements, thereby avoiding unnecessary processing time for visible elements
3Productivity
If line-of-sight visibility is determined using bitstream information, then rendering efficiency is improved, but memory requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary line-of-sight visibility information from the bitstream, rather than processing or storing complete geometric data. By selectively extracting occlusion status for each audio element, the system achieves rendering efficiency improvements while minimizing the additional memory burden of storing processed visibility data
Data Source
AI summary
An audio signal processing apparatus and an audio signal processing method are disclosed. The audio signal processing method performed by the audio signal processing apparatus includes determining whether a line of sight between a render item (RI) corresponding to an audio element and a listener is visible, based on a bitstream, in response to a case where the line of sight is invisible, generating an audio signal by rendering a diffraction-type RI corresponding to the RI, and outputting the audio signal.