Teleconferencing Virtual Sound Source Beam Forming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing teleconferencing systems face challenges in accurately reproducing the sound field at the receiving end due to reliance on volume balance for auditory localization and excessive resource consumption in transmitting signals to multiple loudspeaker arrays.
Innovation Solution
A teleconferencing apparatus with a microphone array forming sound pick-up beams and detecting the position of the largest volume area, transmitting sound signals and position information, and processing signals to form virtual sound emission beams for precise sound reproduction, reducing the need for multiple loudspeakers and conserving transmission resources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sound field information is transmitted using multiple microphone arrays with corresponding loudspeaker arrays, then natural sound reproduction is achieved, but transmission line resources are excessively consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts only the essential sound source position information from the multi-channel microphone array signals, separating it from the full sound field data. This extracted position information is then transmitted instead of the complete multi-channel audio data, significantly reducing transmission resource consumption while maintaining the ability to reproduce natural sound fields at the receiving end
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a virtual sound source position that replicates the acoustic characteristics of the original sound field. By transmitting position information and using beam forming to synthesize the sound field at the receiving end, the system creates an accurate acoustic copy without requiring physical transmission of all original sound channels
2Device complexity
If volume balance adjustment is used for auditory localization, then simple processing is achieved, but accurate auditory lateralization cannot be performed
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the simple volume balance adjustment mechanism with an acoustic beam forming system. Instead of merely adjusting loudspeaker volumes for localization, the system uses phased array beam forming with precise time delays and amplitude weights to create directed sound beams, substituting a sophisticated acoustic field control mechanism for simple mechanical volume adjustment
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the control parameters from simple volume levels to complex beam forming parameters including time delays, amplitude weights, and phase relationships. By adjusting these multiple parameters simultaneously, the system achieves accurate auditory lateralization that cannot be obtained through volume balance alone
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables accurate reproduction of the sound field at the receiving end while minimizing resource consumption by using a virtual sound source position for sound emission, allowing participants to interact as if in the same conference room.
Implementation Method 1
a sound pick-up beam forming section for delaying and adding the sound pick-up signals output from the microphones, to form sound pick-up beams directed to a plurality of sound pick-up areas
Implementation Method 2
a signal processing section for processing the received sound signal so as to form a sound emission beam with the position determined based on the received position information as a virtual sound source position
Data Source
AI summary
A teleconferencing apparatus includes the functions of a transmitting unit and a receiving unit and the transmitting unit transmits a sound signal formed from sound pick-up signals of a microphone array made up of microphones Mi (i=1 to N) and position information. The position information is provided by forming a plurality of sound pick-up beams directed in a specific direction and selecting the sound pick-up beam with the largest volume. In the receiving unit, a parameter calculation section sets a virtual sound source based on data of a reception signal and sets a delay parameter. A virtual sound source generation signal processing section forms a sound emission beam based on the parameters and outputs the beam to a loudspeaker SPi.