Speaker Array Spatialized Audio via Inverse Filters
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sound reproduction systems struggle to create a realistic three-dimensional virtual sound experience for listeners, particularly outside the angle spanned by loudspeakers, and fail to provide effective cross-talk cancellation for virtual source imaging, especially when considering individual head-related transfer functions and acoustical environments.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing a speaker array with algorithms for real-time processing, employing inverse filters and Head-Related Transfer Functions (HRTFs) to deliver targeted, narrow audio beams to each ear, allowing for binaural and beamforming modes that provide private and spatially enhanced audio experiences without the need for physical surround speakers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If amplitude stereo is used to create virtual sound images, then sound can be positioned between two loudspeakers, but virtual images cannot be created outside the angle spanned by the loudspeakers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from 2D planar speaker arrangements to 3D spatial audio processing by incorporating vertical dimension and spherical coordinate systems for sound source localization, enabling virtual images to be positioned in three-dimensional space rather than limited to the horizontal plane between speakers
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces HRTF (Head-Related Transfer Function) filters as intermediaries that model the acoustic path from speakers to listener ears, enabling the system to create convincing virtual sound images without requiring physical speakers positioned at every desired location
2Adaptability or versatility
If cross-talk cancellation is implemented using time-invariant filters, then binaural sound can be reproduced at a specific listening location, but the sound field can only be controlled in the sweet-spot
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces static time-invariant filters with dynamic adaptive filters that can adjust their characteristics in real-time based on the listener's position and head orientation, allowing the sweet spot to move with the listener while maintaining sound field control accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms that continuously monitor the acoustic environment and listener position, then adjust the filter coefficients accordingly to maintain optimal cross-talk cancellation and binaural reproduction across multiple listening locations
3Area of stationary object
If a traditional surround-sound system with multiple separate loudspeakers is used, then spatial audio coverage is improved, but the system requires proper speaker setup specifications and minimizes the sweet spot area
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes a single speaker array perform multiple functions by using signal processing techniques to create both directional sound beams and omnidirectional surround sound fields, eliminating the need for multiple separate speaker systems and complex spatial configurations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical solution of physically positioning multiple speakers around the listener with an electronic/digital solution using signal processing and HRTF-based binaural rendering, achieving surround sound through computational methods rather than physical speaker placement
Data Source
AI summary
A signal processing method and system are provided for delivering spatialized sound using highly optimized inverse filters to deliver narrow localized beams of sound from the included speaker array. The inventive method can be used to provide private listening areas in a public space and provide spatialization of source material for individual users to create a virtual 3D audio effect. In a binaural mode, a speaker array provides two targeted beams aimed towards the primary user's ears—one discrete beam for the left ear and one discrete beam for the right ear.