Mobile Robotic Speakers for Dynamic Home Theater Sound Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Home theater systems lack the ability to provide a realistic live sound experience due to fixed speaker locations, which cannot replicate the dynamic sound directionality found in theaters.
Innovation Solution
A system of mobile robotic speakers equipped with cameras, sensors, and processors that map the environment, communicate with each other, and adjust their positions to optimize sound delivery based on user location and room acoustics, using SLAM techniques and machine learning to provide a customizable and immersive listening experience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If speakers are fixed to a particular location in home theater systems, then installation is simple and stable, but the ability to provide realistic live sound experience with dynamic sound directionality is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by transforming fixed speakers into mobile robotic speakers that can autonomously navigate and reposition themselves within the environment. The robotic speakers use sensors, processors, and wheel suspension systems to dynamically adjust their locations, enabling realistic sound directionality and live concert experiences while managing system complexity through automated control algorithms
2Adaptability or versatility
If mobile robotic speakers are used to provide dynamic sound directionality, then realistic live sound experience is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic speakers are equipped with autonomous navigation capabilities using SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) algorithms, sensors, and processors that enable them to self-position and self-adjust without manual intervention. The system automatically maps the environment, determines optimal speaker locations for acoustic performance, and navigates speakers to those positions, reducing the need for complex external control systems
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where robotic speakers use sensors to detect their environment and acoustic conditions, process this information to determine optimal positioning, and adjust their locations accordingly. The smart phone application receives sensor data, processes it to determine ideal speaker positions, and provides real-time control feedback to the robotic speakers for precise positioning
3Measurement precision
If the system maps the environment and determines optimal speaker positions using SLAM techniques, then acoustic performance is optimized, but processing requirements and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements partial mapping by initially mapping only the essential features of the environment needed for speaker positioning, such as walls, obstacles, and room dimensions. The SLAM algorithm progressively refines the map as speakers navigate, focusing computational resources on critical spatial information rather than complete environmental documentation, thereby reducing processing load and energy consumption while maintaining positioning accuracy
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a system including at least two robots. A first robot includes a chassis, a set of wheels, a wheel suspension, sensors, a processor, and a machine-readable medium for storing instructions. A camera of the first robot captures images of an environment from which the processor generates or updates a map of the environment and determines a location of items within the environment. The processor extracts features of the environment from the images and determines a location of the first robot. The processor transmits information to a processor of a second robot and determines an action of the first robot and the second robot. A smart phone application is paired with at least the first robot and is configured to receive at least one user input specifying an instruction for at least the first robot and at least one user preference.