Selective Spatial Audio Communication for Group Conversations
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Solution Overview
Problem
In multi-participant conversations, especially in group settings, it is challenging for listeners to distinguish between speakers and understand who is speaking due to overlapping audio signals, leading to confusion and difficulty in focusing on specific participants.
Innovation Solution
A system that includes audio data acquisition, focus determination, spatial relationship analysis, and spatial audio enhancement components to filter and spatialize audio data, allowing listeners to perceive audio as emanating from specific sources based on their positional relationships, enhancing clarity and providing a 'cocktail party effect' by prioritizing audio from selected participants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If all participants' audio is transmitted in a group conversation, then complete information is provided to listeners, but it becomes difficult for listeners to distinguish who is speaking and what is being said
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the mixed audio signal from multiple participants into separate audio streams, each associated with a specific participant. The audio processing system divides the composite audio into individual contributor components, allowing listeners to selectively focus on specific speakers while maintaining access to all audio information through the segmented structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality enhancement by allowing listeners to select specific participants whose audio should be emphasized. The system enhances the audio quality and volume of selected participants locally within the mixed audio stream, while maintaining the original mixed audio as well, thus providing both complete information and clear speaker identification.
2Quantity of substance
If multiple participants speak simultaneously in a group conversation, then diverse information is available, but listeners cannot ascertain who is speaking
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments overlapping audio signals into distinct participant streams, preserving speaker attribution information even when multiple people speak simultaneously. Each segmented stream maintains metadata identifying the original speaker, allowing the system to reconstruct who said what despite temporal overlaps in the audio signal.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the system monitors which participants are currently speaking and provides real-time updates to listeners about active speakers. This feedback loop maintains speaker attribution information by continuously tracking and communicating which participants are contributing to the conversation at any given moment.
3Loss of information
If audio from all sources is transmitted equally, then no information is lost, but listeners cannot focus on specific participants
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic control allowing listeners to adjust audio focus in real-time. The system enables listeners to dynamically select which participants they want to focus on, with the audio processing adapting continuously to these selections. This dynamic adjustment mechanism provides ease of operation by allowing simple participant selection while maintaining complete audio information in the background.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a multi-functional audio system that simultaneously provides mixed audio playback, individual participant isolation, and selective emphasis. The universal audio processing framework handles multiple functions: maintaining the complete mixed audio stream while also enabling focused listening on specific participants, thus providing both information completeness and focus control through a single integrated system.
Data Source
AI summary
Audio data associated with a plurality of originating sources is obtained, the audio data directed to a participant entity. An originating entity associated with one of the originating sources is determined. A listener focus indication is obtained from the participant entity indicating a listener focus on the originating entity. A spatial positional relationship is determined between the participant and originating entities. A filtering operation is initiated to enhance a portion of the audio data associated with the originating entity, the portion enhanced relative to another portion of the audio data that is associated with the originating sources other than the first one. A spatialization of a stream of the first portion that is based on a participant positional listening perspective is initiated, based on the spatial positional relationship. Transmission of a spatial stream of audio data is initiated to the participant entity, based on the filtering operation and spatialization.