Synchronicity Service for Low-Latency Online Audio Sessions
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing audio communication systems in computer networks face challenges in achieving low latency and synchronization across multiple client devices, with latency levels often exceeding human perception thresholds, particularly in diverse network environments.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus comprising an audio receiver, transmitter, synchronicity service, and network measurement service that dynamically adjusts audio communication parameters based on network metrics to maintain latency below 66 ms, utilizing Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) and adaptive bitrate techniques to ensure synchronized audio streams across multiple client devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If audio communication is transmitted across multiple client devices using various computer networks, then the system achieves multi-party interaction capability, but the latency increases beyond human perception thresholds
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts audio communication parameters based on real-time network conditions. The synchronicity service continuously monitors network metrics and adapts bitrate, encoding rates, and transmission parameters to maintain latency below 66ms while supporting multiple client devices, transforming the static audio transmission into a dynamically optimized process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes multiple audio communication parameters including bitrate, sampling rate, and packet size based on network conditions. The synchronicity service adjusts these parameters in real-time to optimize the balance between audio quality and latency, enabling multi-party interaction with imperceptible delay.
2Loss of time
If the system dynamically adjusts audio communication parameters to reduce latency, then the audio latency decreases to below 66 ms, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The synchronicity service acts as an intermediary between the audio receiver and audio transmitter, managing the complexity of dynamic parameter adjustment. This dedicated service component monitors network metrics and coordinates parameter changes across all client devices, centralizing the control logic and simplifying the overall system architecture while achieving low latency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback loops where the synchronicity service monitors network metrics and audio latency, then adjusts communication parameters accordingly. This closed-loop control enables automatic optimization without manual intervention, reducing the operational complexity despite the sophisticated parameter adjustment mechanisms.
3Reliability
If the synchronicity service continuously monitors network metrics and adjusts parameters, then the audio synchronization improves, but the computational resources consumed increase
Solution Approach 1:
The synchronicity service performs parameter adjustments at periodic intervals based on network condition changes rather than continuously. This periodic monitoring and adjustment approach maintains audio synchronization reliability while reducing computational overhead compared to continuous real-time adjustment, optimizing the balance between synchronization quality and resource consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus has an audio receiver to receive audio input from client devices. An audio transmitter transmits audio output to the client devices. A synchronicity service evaluates the audio input with respect to a set of network metrics and dynamically adjusts audio communication parameters to insure that the audio output to the client devices has a latency at or below 66 ms.