Directional Microphone Overlay on UAV Camera View for Sound Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies fail to effectively improve the quality of sound picked up by unmanned aircraft with built-in microphones, as sound cannot be visually recognized, making it difficult to operate the aircraft to capture high-quality sound.
Innovation Solution
An information processing device and method that calculates and visualizes the sound pickup direction of a directional microphone on a captured image, allowing the user to orient the microphone towards the sound source, enhancing sound quality by controlling the aircraft's movement based on the calculated direction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If sound pickup direction is not visualized, then the system structure remains simple, but the user cannot easily align the microphone with the sound source, reducing sound quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary visualization system that displays the sound pickup direction as an arrow overlay on the captured image. This mediator translates the invisible acoustic field into visible information without modifying the physical microphone or aircraft structure, thus improving measurement precision while adding minimal system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the need for complex mechanical alignment systems with an information-based solution. Instead of using mechanical guides or physical markers to indicate microphone direction, the system uses computational visualization to display the pickup direction on a screen, substituting mechanical complexity with information processing.
2Ease of operation
If no visual feedback is provided, then the operation interface remains simple, but the user cannot effectively control the aircraft to capture high-quality sound
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the sound pickup direction is continuously displayed as an arrow overlay on the captured image. This visual feedback allows the user to see in real-time whether the microphone is oriented toward the sound source, enabling effective control of the aircraft to capture high-quality sound while maintaining a simple operation interface.
3Reliability
If the sound pickup direction is not displayed, then the processing load remains low, but the user cannot determine the microphone orientation relative to the sound source
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by displaying only the essential sound pickup direction information as an arrow overlay, rather than providing comprehensive acoustic field visualization. This selective display approach ensures sufficient information for reliable sound quality control while minimizing processing energy consumption by avoiding excessive computational requirements.
Data Source
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AI summary
A controller (200) includes a processor (202) and a memory (203). The memory (203) stores (i) a captured image outputted from a camera included in an unmanned aircraft (100) and (ii) a sound outputted from a directional microphone (105) included in the unmanned aircraft (100), and stores (i) a position and an orientation of the camera and (ii) a position and an orientation of the directional microphone. The processor obtains, from the memory, the captured image, the sound, the position and the orientation of the camera, and the position and the orientation of the directional microphone, calculates a sound pickup direction of the directional microphone using the position and the orientation of the camera and the position and the orientation of the directional microphone, superimposes an object indicating the sound pickup direction at a position, on the captured image, corresponding to the sound pickup direction calculated, and causes a display device to display the captured image on which the object is superimposed.