Wearable Audio Navigation Using Gaze and Sonification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for navigating to a point of interest using audio cues, such as Soundscape, require users to hold a smartphone to determine direction, limiting the experience to hands-on navigation and may not effectively assist individuals with lower perception of spatial audio, making navigation less accurate and more difficult.
Innovation Solution
A wearable audio output device with sensors and processors that determine the user's direction of gaze and location, using sonification techniques to convey distance and angle information through spatial audio, allowing for hands-free navigation and improved perception of the point of interest, even for those with lower spatial audio perception.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If users hold a smartphone to determine direction for audio navigation, then navigation direction can be determined, but hands-free operation is limited and user convenience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of holding a smartphone with sensors (accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers) integrated into the wearable audio device to detect head orientation and determine direction automatically. This substitution enables hands-free operation while maintaining navigation accuracy through automated sensor-based direction detection.
2Measurement precision
If spatial audio effects are used to convey location information, then sound localization is improved, but perception accuracy deteriorates for users with lower spatial audio perception
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms spatial audio parameters (direction, distance) into alternative sonification parameters such as amplitude modulation, frequency shifts, and temporal patterns. This parameter transformation provides multiple perceptual channels for navigation information, making it accessible to users with varying spatial audio perception abilities while maintaining accuracy for those with good spatial hearing.
3Loss of information
If sonification techniques are applied to convey distance and angle information, then navigation information completeness is improved, but audio processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments navigation information into distinct sonification components: amplitude modulation for distance, frequency shifts for angle, and temporal patterns for directional confirmation. This segmentation allows complex navigation data to be processed and conveyed through multiple simple, independent audio parameters, reducing overall processing complexity while maintaining information completeness.
Data Source
AI summary
A method is provided for directing a user to a point of interest using sounds played on a wearable audio output device. A user's direction of gaze is determined using data from at least one sensor in the audio output device. First and second locations are determined of the user and the point of interest respectively, and a distance is determined between the first and second locations. A relative angle between the direction of gaze and the direction of the point of interest is determined based on the determined first and second locations. A sample sound is altered using at least one sonification technique to convey information relating to the determined distance and the relative angle. The altered sample sound is rendered and output for playing by the audio output device.