VR Audio Scene Change Signaling With User Impact Zones

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Solution Overview

Problem

The application of 6DoF audio rendering in AR/VR systems is problematic due to the significant processing overhead required to render complex audio scenes with many audio elements, leading to computational complexity and inefficiency.

Innovation Solution

The solution involves defining an 'impact zone' within the audio scene, limiting the scope of processing to audio elements within this zone, thereby reducing the number of audio scene change conditions that need to be monitored and calculated based on user movement, using a data structure to signal the impact zone extent and associated audio elements.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If 6DoF audio rendering is applied to render complex audio scenes with many audio elements, then the audio scene realism and user experience are improved, but the processing overhead and computational complexity increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveaudio scene realismVSAvoidprocessing overhead
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The audio scene is segmented into multiple zones based on spatial proximity to the user. Each zone contains a subset of audio elements that are relevant to the user's current position. This segmentation allows the system to process only the audio elements within the active zone rather than all elements in the scene, reducing computational complexity while maintaining audio realism for the user's perspective

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system applies different processing quality levels to different spatial regions. Audio elements within the impact zone (close to user) are rendered with high fidelity and full 6DoF processing, while elements outside this zone use simplified rendering or are excluded entirely. This local quality approach maintains realism where it matters most while reducing overall processing overhead

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Measurement precision

If all audio scene change conditions are monitored and calculated based on user movement, then the audio rendering accuracy is improved, but the processing time and computational load increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveaudio rendering accuracyVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts and monitors only the audio scene change conditions that are relevant to the user's current zone, rather than monitoring all possible scene changes in the entire audio environment. This selective extraction of relevant conditions reduces the number of calculations required while maintaining accuracy for the audio elements that the user can actually perceive

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs partial monitoring of audio scene changes by focusing only on changes within the impact zone and ignoring changes outside this zone. This partial action approach provides sufficient rendering accuracy for the user's current perspective without the computational burden of monitoring the entire audio scene

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentEP4070573B1Audio scene change signaling
Publication Date: 2026.04.08 NOKIA TECHNOLOGIES OY
  • EP4070573B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4070573B1 patent drawingFigure 2a
  • EP4070573B1 patent drawingFigure 2b

AI summary

There is disclosed inter alia a method for rendering a virtual reality audio scene comprising: receiving information defining a limited area audio scene within the virtual reality audio scene (301), wherein the limited area audio scene defines a sub space of the virtual reality audio scene (304), wherein the information defines the limited area audio scene by defining an extent a user can move within the virtual audio scene; determining if the movement of the user within the limited area audio scene meets a condition of an audio scene change (302); and processing the audio scene change when the movement of the user within the limited area audio scene meets the condition of an audio scene change (306).