Sound Source Position Estimation for Ring Wearables
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wearable devices, such as neck band type devices with microphones, experience position displacement during use, leading to difficulties in accurately acquiring sound information due to changes in microphone placement relative to the sound source.
Innovation Solution
A sound source position estimation device is implemented, featuring a spectrum acquisition unit, a distance computing unit, and a sound source position computing unit that approximates the wearable device to a circular shape, calculating the sound source position by finding intersections between cylindrical and spherical surfaces based on frequency spectra from multiple microphones.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the wearable device is worn loosely or shifts during use, then the device maintains comfort and ease of operation, but the microphone position relative to the sound source changes, degrading sound information acquisition accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adapts to changing wearing conditions by continuously estimating sound source position and recalculating beamforming parameters. Instead of assuming a fixed microphone array geometry, the system updates the coordinate transformation based on actual sound source locations, allowing accurate sound processing even when the device shifts on the user's body.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical approach of physically fixing the device to prevent displacement with a computational approach. By using sound signal processing and coordinate transformation algorithms, the system substitutes physical constraint with mathematical correction, eliminating the need for rigid mounting structures that would compromise comfort.
2Measurement precision
If multiple microphones are used to improve sound source position estimation, then measurement precision improves, but device complexity and computational load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the complex 3D sound source position estimation problem into manageable steps: first estimating position in the wearable device's local coordinate system using multiple microphones, then transforming coordinates to the user's body coordinate system. This segmentation allows the use of simpler 2D position estimation algorithms followed by coordinate transformation, reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a coordinate transformation as an intermediary step between the microphone array measurements and the final sound source position in the user's body coordinate system. This intermediary transformation layer decouples the complexity of multiple microphone processing from the final position estimation, allowing each component to be optimized independently.
Data Source
AI summary
[Object] To make it possible to estimate the position of a sound source resulting from a wearing displacement, even in the case where the wearing displacement occurs in a wearable device.[Solution] A sound source position estimation device according to the present disclosure includes: a spectrum acquisition unit configured to acquire a frequency spectrum of a sound source on the basis of a sound obtained by a plurality of microphones provided for a ring-like wearable device; a distance computing unit configured to compute respective distances from the plurality of microphones to the sound source on the basis of the frequency spectrum; and a sound source position computing unit configured to, approximating the ring-like wearable device to a circle and assuming that the sound source is located on a cylindrical surface including the ring-like wearable device, obtain an intersection between the cylindrical surface and spherical surfaces whose radii are the respective distances to compute a position of the sound source.