Source-Directivity Reverberator Tuning for Spatially Accurate Audio
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing spatial audio reproduction systems fail to accurately model and reproduce the effect of sound source directivity on reverberation, leading to suboptimal reverberation quality, especially in augmented and virtual reality applications.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method that utilize directivity data to determine frequency-dependent gain data, which is then used to configure a reverberator, accounting for sound source directivity and room parameters to enhance the spatial rendering of audio signals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If uncorrelated noise sequences are used in each channel to produce mutually incoherent reverberant signals, then the reverberation can be reproduced with simple acoustic characteristics, but the reverberation is perceived to be similar in all directions and lacks spatial accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making each loudspeaker channel have distinct acoustic characteristics (different RT60 times and levels) rather than uniform characteristics. Each channel is configured with specific reverberation parameters that reflect the local spatial properties of reflections from that direction, enabling direction-dependent reverberation perception while maintaining independent control of each channel.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the reverberation parameters (RT60 time and level) for each loudspeaker channel based on the direction of arrival of reflections. By varying these parameters across channels according to spatial information, the system achieves directionally differentiated reverberation that accurately represents the acoustic environment while using standard reverberation generation techniques.
2Device complexity
If the same acoustic characteristics are shared across all loudspeaker channels, then the system is simple to implement, but the reverberation perception lacks directional information and spatial realism
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamics by making the reverberation characteristics adaptive to the spatial position and directivity of sound sources. The system dynamically adjusts the RT60 time and level parameters for each channel based on real-time spatial information, allowing the reverberation profile to change according to source location and orientation, thereby achieving accurate spatial impression without requiring complex fixed configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the reverberation processing into independent channel-specific configurations. Each loudspeaker channel is treated as a separate entity with its own reverberation parameters derived from the spatial characteristics of reflections arriving from that direction. This segmentation allows the system to maintain simplicity in individual channel processing while achieving complex spatial realism through the combination of all channels.
3Measurement precision
If direction-dependent reverberation is implemented for each loudspeaker, then spatial accuracy of reverberation is improved, but the computational complexity and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by implementing direction-dependent reverberation characteristics only for the late reverberation portion of the impulse response, while keeping the direct sound and early reflections handled separately. This selective application of complex processing only where needed (in the diffuse late reverberation stage) achieves spatial accuracy improvement without proportionally increasing overall system complexity across all processing stages.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus configured to: obtain: gain data; an identifier associated with at least one audio signal or the at least one audio signal; and at least one room parameter; determine averaged gain data based on the gain data; configure at least one reverberator based on the averaged gain data and the at least one room parameter; and apply the at least one reverberator to the at least one audio signal as at least part of the rendering of the at least one audio signal.