Vehicle Personalized Audio Space Generation Using Directional Speakers

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current infotainment systems in vehicles fail to provide personalized audio experiences for multiple users due to overlapping audio from multiple devices, as existing sound segregation techniques are inefficient in closed spaces like cars, where climate and acoustic conditions vary.

Innovation Solution

A system using image sensors to determine user positions and acoustic characteristics, directing first directional speakers to play user-selected audio, and generating a second sound wave to converge with the first at the audio space boundary, ensuring the audio is confined to each region.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If multiple devices or sources are used to play music for different users, then each user can have their preferred content, but audio from multiple devices overlaps and cannot be heard properly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepersonalized audio content deliveryVSAvoidaudio overlap and interference
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The vehicle interior is divided into multiple regions, with each region having dedicated directional speakers that play audio only for users in that specific region. This spatial segmentation prevents audio overlap by ensuring that speakers in one region do not play sound in other regions, thus resolving the contradiction between personalized content delivery and audio interference.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Each region in the vehicle is equipped with directional speakers tailored to that specific location's acoustic characteristics and user positions. The speakers are configured to direct sound locally to the intended user, providing personalized audio quality in each region while preventing sound from spreading to other regions, thereby eliminating audio overlap.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Measurement precision

If directional speakers are used to direct sound in a particular direction, then sound can be targeted to specific users, but existing techniques fail to efficiently deliver sound in closed spaces like vehicles with varying acoustic conditions

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesound directionalityVSAvoidadaptability to varying acoustic conditions
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically determines the direction of directional speakers based on real-time user positions detected by image sensors and adapts to varying acoustic conditions in different vehicle regions. This dynamic adjustment ensures precise sound directionality while maintaining adaptability to changing acoustic environments, resolving the contradiction between targeted sound delivery and environmental adaptability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses image sensors to detect user positions and acoustic characteristics, then adjusts the direction of directional speakers accordingly. This feedback mechanism ensures that sound is precisely directed to the intended user while adapting to varying acoustic conditions in different vehicle regions, thus resolving the contradiction between sound directionality and environmental adaptability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Adaptability or versatility

If audio space boundary is defined based on user position and speaker direction, then personalized audio spaces can be created, but determining the boundary becomes difficult due to variations in user parameters and speaker positions

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepersonalized audio space creationVSAvoidboundary determination complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system introduces an intermediary computational layer that processes user position data from image sensors and speaker position data to automatically determine audio space boundaries. This intermediary processing simplifies the boundary determination by converting complex geometric and acoustic calculations into automated algorithms, thus resolving the contradiction between personalized space creation and determination complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

4Object-generated harmful factors

If sound is segregated in enclosed spaces using directional speakers, then audio can be directed to specific regions, but sound patterns still overlap between regions due to different acoustic impedance caused by climate control

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesound overlap between regionsVSAvoidregional climate control
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-generated harmful factorsVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system configures directional speakers in each region with specific directional characteristics tailored to that region's acoustic impedance caused by local climate control conditions. This local optimization ensures that sound is directed precisely within each region without overlapping into adjacent regions, thus resolving the contradiction between sound segregation and regional climate control adaptability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

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

This approach effectively creates personalized audio spaces within a vehicle by eliminating sound overlap, allowing each user to listen to their preferred content without interference from other regions.

Implementation Method 1

a second sound wave corresponding to the first sound wave is generated and transmitted along the identified audio space boundary of the one of the one or more regions using one or more second directional speakers associated with the one of the one or more regions. The first sound wave and the second sound wave converge at the audio space boundary of the region such that the second sound wave restricts rendering of the first sound wave beyond the audio space boundary

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectSound wave convergence and interference: Interference

Data Source

PatentEP3506649B1Method and personalized audio space generation system for generating personalised audio space in a vehicle
Publication Date: 2021.05.19 WIPRO LTD
  • EP3506649B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3506649B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3506649B1 patent drawingFigure 3a

AI summary

The present disclosure relates to a method and system for generating personalized audio space in vehicle. Information related to user in each region of the vehicle is collected and analyzed to determine direction of first directional speakers associated with corresponding region. An audio space boundary for each region is identified based on the direction of first directional speakers in the corresponding region. Further, the proposed method renders first sound wave of a user selected audio using first directional speakers in the region and transmits a second sound wave corresponding to first sound wave in the region using second directional speakers associated with the corresponding region. The second sound wave restricts rendering of the first sound wave beyond the audio space boundary of the one of the one or more regions to generate the personalized audio space in the vehicle.