Spatial Audio Occlusion Mixing for Interior-Exterior Transitions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for rendering occlusion effects in spatially-bounded audio elements with interior and exterior representations fail to effectively control the transition between these representations when occluders are present, leading to improper audio rendering when a listener moves within or outside the audio element's boundary.
Innovation Solution
A method that determines an occlusion modifier based on the amount of occlusion, adjusts the transition region accordingly, and combines interior and exterior audio representations using weighted mixing to ensure seamless rendering based on occlusion, utilizing existing occlusion information with minimal additional complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the listener is in the transition region, then both interior and exterior representations are combined to render the audio element, but when occlusion is present, the transition cannot be properly controlled leading to improper audio rendering
Solution Approach 1:
The patent calculates occlusion information in advance by determining occlusion modifiers for different regions (interior, exterior, transition) before rendering. This preliminary calculation of occlusion status allows the system to properly control which representation (interior or exterior) should be used during the transition region, resolving the contradiction between rendering accuracy and control complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different occlusion modifiers to different spatial regions (interior representation, exterior representation, and transition region) of the audio element. By making the occlusion handling local to each region rather than global, the system can properly control the transition between representations even when occlusion is present, improving rendering reliability without excessive complexity.
2Shape
If multiple copies of mono audio element are created around the audio element to render spatial extent, then spatial homogeneity is achieved, but occlusion effects cannot be properly applied to the interior representation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the audio element representation into two distinct components: an exterior representation (using multiple copies of mono audio element for spatial extent) and an interior representation (for immersive interior audio). This segmentation allows occlusion effects to be independently and accurately applied to each representation based on the listener's position and occlusion modifiers, resolving the contradiction between spatial extent representation and occlusion accuracy.
3Ease of operation
If the transition region size is fixed, then the rendering process is simple, but the transition does not adapt to occlusion conditions leading to improper audio representation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the transition region dynamic by adjusting its effective size and behavior based on occlusion conditions. The system calculates occlusion modifiers that dynamically influence the transition between interior and exterior representations, allowing the rendering process to adapt to occlusion while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure through the use of standardized transition region geometry.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for rendering a spatially-bounded audio element having an interior representation and an exterior representation. The method includes determining a modifier (m) wherein m indicates an amount by which an extent of the audio element is occluded. The method also includes determining a transition region (TR) for the audio element based on m and a default TR (D_TR).