Virtual Scene Audio Fusion for Physical-Space Acoustic Rendering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing augmented reality (AR) applications struggle to seamlessly integrate virtual scene acoustics with physical listening space acoustics, leading to suboptimal audio reproduction and immersion.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method that determine a listening position within the physical space, obtain information about both the virtual scene and the physical space's acoustics, and merge these to create a unified audio scene representation, enabling plausible audio rendering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If virtual scene acoustics and physical space acoustics are processed separately, then the processing complexity is reduced, but the audio immersion and realism deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges virtual scene description (VSD) and listener space description (LSD) into a unified scene representation that integrates both virtual and physical acoustic elements. This combination allows the system to process acoustics from both sources together, improving audio immersion while managing complexity through structured integration of the two descriptions.
2Reliability
If virtual scene information and physical space information are integrated, then audio realism is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the integrated scene representation into distinct virtual scene description (VSD) and listener space description (LSD) components. This segmentation allows the system to maintain separate processing paths for virtual and physical acoustic information while still achieving integration in the final audio rendering, thereby improving audio realism without overwhelming system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified scene representation serves multiple functions: it stores both virtual and physical acoustic information, enables flexible rendering options, and supports various listening scenarios. This multi-functionality allows a single integrated structure to handle diverse audio rendering requirements, improving audio realism while avoiding the need for separate specialized systems.
3Productivity
If separate processing of virtual and physical acoustics is used, then processing speed is maintained, but audio quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary integration of VSD and LSD into a unified scene representation before the actual audio rendering process. By preparing the integrated structure in advance, the system enables faster real-time rendering while ensuring high audio quality, as the integration work is done beforehand rather than during critical rendering operations.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for rendering an audio scene in a physical space including circuitry configured to: determine a listening position within the physical space during rendering; obtain at least one information of a virtual scene to render the virtual scene according to the at least one information; obtain at least one acoustic characteristic of the physical space; prepare the audio scene using the at least one information of the virtual scene and the at least one acoustic characteristic of the physical space, such that the virtual scene acoustics and the physical space acoustics are merged; and render the prepared audio scene according to the listening position.