Wearable Audio Volume Control for User Distance and Noise
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current technologies lack effective solutions for maintaining optimal audio volume when a user moves away from or is distracted by other sound sources while trying to listen to audio from a device.
Innovation Solution
A system using a wearable device with a microphone that adjusts the volume of audio output from one device based on the user's location and prioritizes audio sources, allowing it to increase or decrease volume accordingly and manage competing sounds by issuing commands to other devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a user moves to a more-distant location relative to the audio device, then the user can be in a more comfortable position or location, but the audio volume becomes insufficient and the user cannot clearly hear the audio
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the audio volume output based on real-time detection of user position and environmental conditions. The wearable device continuously monitors acoustic characteristics and communicates with the audio device to modify volume levels, transforming a static volume setting into a dynamic adaptive system that responds to changing user-location relationships.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback loop where the wearable device's microphone detects acoustic characteristics including volume levels and ambient noise, processes this information to determine user position relative to the audio source, and sends commands back to the audio device to adjust volume accordingly. This closed-loop feedback ensures optimal audio levels are maintained regardless of user distance.
2Manufacturing precision
If the audio volume is increased to compensate for distance, then the user can hear the audio clearly, but other sounds in the environment become more distracting and interfere with audio perception
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different processing to different acoustic sources by analyzing the directional and spectral characteristics of detected sounds. It identifies the target audio source versus environmental noise through acoustic fingerprinting and spatial analysis, then selectively adjusts amplification to enhance the desired audio while applying noise suppression algorithms specifically to identified harmful sound sources, rather than uniformly increasing all sound levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the wearable device's microphone to detect environmental noise that would normally be harmful, processes this noise information to characterize the acoustic environment, and then applies adaptive noise cancellation and spectral subtraction techniques. The detected harmful sounds are converted into useful information about the acoustic landscape, enabling the system to selectively suppress unwanted frequencies while preserving the target audio.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple devices are used in the same environment, then users can have different audio preferences and sources, but the competing sound sources create interference and make it difficult to hear the desired audio
Solution Approach 1:
The wearable device serves as an intermediary between multiple audio devices and the user's ears. It receives audio signals from one or more nearby devices, analyzes their acoustic characteristics, identifies the primary audio source based on proximity and signal strength, and selectively amplifies that source while suppressing others. This intermediary processing resolves the conflict between multiple audio sources before the sounds reach the user.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the acoustic environment by spatially and spectrally separating different audio sources. It uses beamforming and spatial filtering techniques to create distinct acoustic channels for each device, allowing the user to selectively attend to one source while physically co-located with multiple devices. Each audio source is processed independently through its own signal path in the wearable device.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Ensures consistent optimal audio volume for the user across different locations and environments by dynamically adjusting the volume of audio output from one device while minimizing interference from other sound sources.
Implementation Method 1
receive input from the microphone
Data Source
AI summary
In one aspect, a first device includes at least one processor, a microphone accessible to the at least one processor, and storage accessible to the at least one processor. The storage bears instructions executable by the at least one processor to receive input from the microphone and determine, based on the input from the microphone, whether sound from a second device meets a sound criterion. The instructions are also executable by the at least one processor to, responsive to the determination, issue a command to increase the volume of audio output by a third device.