Virtual Reality Audio Integration for Location-Based Sound Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In virtual reality environments, managing multiple audio sources from both external and internal sources to provide an immersive experience while respecting user preferences, platform settings, and landowner preferences is challenging, particularly when avatars traverse different virtual properties.
Innovation Solution
A sound management system that evaluates audio content based on user, platform, and virtual reality area settings to determine output and sound levels, considering factors like location, priority, and digital rights, using an audio integrator to combine and control audio sources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple audio sources are combined to create an immersive virtual reality experience, then the immersion quality is improved, but the complexity of managing and controlling audio sources increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments audio management into distinct hierarchical levels: user settings, landowner settings, and platform settings. Each level manages specific audio sources independently, allowing complex multi-source audio environments to be controlled through modular, organized settings rather than monolithic management, thus reducing perceived complexity while maintaining immersion quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an audio integrator as an intermediary component that automatically combines multiple audio sources according to the hierarchical settings. This intermediary handles the complex mixing and coordination of audio sources, shielding users from the underlying complexity while delivering high-quality immersive audio experiences.
2Adaptability or versatility
If audio content is customized based on user preferences and location, then the user experience is improved, but the computational overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-establishing hierarchical audio settings during system initialization and landowner configuration. User preferences, landowner preferences, and platform defaults are set in advance, allowing the audio integrator to quickly apply pre-determined rules rather than computing custom audio configurations in real-time, thus reducing computational overhead while maintaining high adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by allowing audio settings to vary based on the user's specific location within the virtual environment. Different landowners can define audio preferences for their specific virtual properties, and the system efficiently applies only the relevant local settings based on avatar location, avoiding the need to process all possible audio configurations simultaneously.
3Reliability
If audio settings are dynamically adjusted based on avatar location, then the realism is improved, but the processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamics by allowing audio settings to be dynamically adjusted based on the user's avatar location within the virtual environment. As the avatar moves between different landowner properties, the audio integrator automatically applies the appropriate hierarchical settings, creating realistic location-dependent audio experiences without requiring complete reprocessing of all audio parameters.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes parameter changes by modifying audio output parameters (volume, presence, type) based on the user's location and the hierarchical settings. The audio integrator efficiently adjusts these parameters in response to location changes, maintaining high realism while optimizing processing efficiency through targeted parameter modification rather than comprehensive recalculation.
Data Source
AI summary
The technology described herein controls what a user hears while in a virtual reality environment. A user may be exposed to multiple audio sources while in the virtual reality environment. All of these competing audio sources need to be combined to produce the audio content output to the user. Further, various entities have an interest in the user hearing different audio content. The interest can be expressed through settings made available by the VR platform. The VR platform can provide user settings, landowner settings, and platform settings. The sound settings can change based on where the user's avatar is located in the VR environment. For example, when the user's avatar is located on virtual property owned by an entity other than the VR platform or user, then entities sound-preferences are considered along with the user's sound preferences, and VR platform's sound preferences.