Virtual Conference Audio Management for Co-Located Feedback Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Virtual conferencing systems face challenges with audio intelligibility and engagement due to limited audio-enabled devices per locale, room acoustics, and increased feedback loops, leading to poor user experience and communication quality.
Innovation Solution
A method for managing multimedia signals in virtual conferencing systems that detects active client devices using sensors and distinctive attributes, controls audio acquisition and playback, and synchronizes signals to reduce feedback loops and improve listening quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple co-located participants use their personal communication devices to participate in the virtual conference, then participation and user experience are enhanced, but the number of feedback loops increases dramatically, damaging conference quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a virtual conference server as an intermediary that centralizes audio signal routing. Instead of direct peer-to-peer audio transmission between multiple devices, all audio signals are routed through the server, which acts as a mediator to prevent direct feedback loops between co-located devices while maintaining enhanced participation capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements echo cancellation and feedback suppression mechanisms at the server level. The server monitors audio signals for feedback loops and actively cancels echo and feedback paths, allowing multiple devices to participate without the harmful feedback effects that would otherwise occur.
2Reliability
If only one audio-enabled device is used per locale, then feedback loops are minimized, but audio intelligibility varies based on participant distance from the device
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines audio signals from multiple co-located devices at the server level. Instead of relying on a single device's microphone and speaker, the system merges audio inputs from multiple devices and distributes the mixed audio output to all participants, ensuring consistent audio intelligibility regardless of physical distance from any single device.
3Area of stationary object
If multiple microphones capture participant speech, then coverage is improved, but echo cancellation and enhancement strategies become very difficult to perform
Solution Approach 1:
The server acts as a centralized intermediary that receives audio signals from multiple microphones and performs coordinated echo cancellation and enhancement processing. This centralized approach is less complex than implementing independent echo cancellation at each device, as the server can process all signals globally and apply optimized algorithms that consider the entire audio environment.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a method, related virtual conferencing system, a related multimedia management module, a related client device and a related virtual conferencing server for managing sound in a virtual conferencing system comprising a virtual conference server and a plurality of client devices coupled to said virtual conference server said plurality of client devices comprising a first subset of co-located client devices and a second subset of remote client devices, said method comprising the steps of detecting, by an Active client detection means, at least one active client device from/of said subset of co-located client devices based on detected input signals of a user of said client devices; and controlling, by an Acquisition control means, an acquisition of an outgoing audio signal exclusively from each of said at least one active co-located device for forwarding said outgoing audio signal to remote devices of said second subset of remote devices and Controlling, by a playback control means, synchronization of said received incoming audio signal from each of said at least one active device for playback at co-located client devices of said first subset of co-located client devices. The present invention, further manages the video signals, and further controls the transcription of the audio signals, following the step of detecting, by an Active client detection means, at least one active client device from said subset of co-located client devices.