Spatial Audio Processing Apparatus Directional Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mobile devices struggle to accurately convert multi-microphone captured audio signals into a spatial representation, making it difficult for listeners to experience sound sources and ambiance as originally recorded, as existing technologies fail to fully replicate the directional aspects of sound environments.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method that determine directional components of audio signals, calculate virtual positions relative to the device, and generate further audio signals based on these components, allowing for spatial audio processing through directional analysis, multichannel signal generation, and spatial filtering, enabling more flexible and realistic audio reproduction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multi-microphone systems are used to capture audio signals, then the ability to capture spatial audio events is improved, but the difficulty of converting captured signals into accurate spatial representation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the audio signal processing into distinct components: directional analysis separates sound sources from ambient noise, virtual position calculation independently determines spatial coordinates, and selective spatial filtering applies different processing to different audio components. This segmentation simplifies the overall conversion process while maintaining high spatial accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces virtual position parameters as an intermediary representation between the raw multi-microphone signals and the final spatial audio output. These virtual positions serve as a intermediate computational stage that simplifies the transformation to various output formats (stereo, multichannel, binaural) without losing spatial information.
2Measurement precision
If conventional audio processing is used, then device simplicity is maintained, but the ability to reproduce spatial sound environments accurately deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary directional analysis and virtual position determination on the captured audio signals before final spatial reproduction. By pre-calculating directional components and virtual positions, the system prepares the audio data in a format that enables accurate spatial reproduction across multiple output configurations without requiring complex real-time processing during playback.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the audio processing from conventional 2D stereo representation to 3D spatial representation by calculating virtual positions in three-dimensional space. This dimensional expansion allows the system to accurately reproduce spatial sound environments with directional information from multiple angles and elevations, going beyond traditional left-right stereo imaging.
3Loss of information
If directional analysis is performed on audio signals, then spatial information extraction is improved, but processing time and computational load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the directional analysis into frequency-based bands, processing different frequency ranges separately. This segmentation allows for optimized processing of each band, extracting spatial information efficiently while reducing the computational burden compared to processing the entire frequency spectrum uniformly. The segmented approach preserves spatial information across all frequencies with reduced processing time.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus comprising: a directional analyser configured to determine a directional component of at least two audio signals; an estimator configured to determine at least one virtual position or direction relative to the actual position of the apparatus; and a signal generator configured to generate at least one further audio signal dependent on the at least one virtual position or direction relative to the actual position of the apparatus and the directional component of at least two audio signals.