Wireless Earphone Audio Packet Synchronization for Binaural Recording
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current technologies do not effectively enable binaural audio recording using wireless in-ear audio devices, as they lack the capability to transmit high-quality audio signals wirelessly between earpieces for creating a 3D stereo sound experience.
Innovation Solution
A wireless headset with untethered wireless earphone devices that communicate via Bluetooth protocol, where each earphone assembles audio packets including low-resolution and high-resolution clock values and microphone samples, and transmits them to an external device, allowing synchronized audio data transmission for binaural recording.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If wireless in-ear audio devices are used for binaural recording, then the ease of operation and portability are improved, but the ability to transmit high-quality synchronized audio signals wirelessly deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The audio transmission is segmented into two separate wireless channels: one from the left earphone to the external device, and another from the right earphone to the same external device. This segmentation allows each channel to operate independently with its own synchronization mechanism, resolving the contradiction by maintaining wireless convenience while ensuring reliable signal transmission through dedicated communication paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The external device serves as an intermediary that receives audio signals from both earphones, synchronizes them using timestamp information, and processes the combined binaural audio. This intermediary role allows the earphones to remain simple wireless audio devices while achieving reliable synchronized transmission through the external device's coordination.
2Device complexity
If audio packets are transmitted wirelessly from each earphone to an external device, then the device complexity is reduced, but the loss of information due to wireless transmission deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Timestamp information (both low-resolution and high-resolution clock values) is embedded in advance within each audio packet before wireless transmission. This preliminary action ensures that synchronization data is already prepared and attached to the audio signals, preventing any loss of timing information during wireless transmission while keeping the earphone devices simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces physical wired connections with wireless transmission mechanisms, substituting mechanical signal transfer with electromagnetic wave-based communication. This substitution reduces device complexity by eliminating physical connectors and cables while maintaining audio signal quality through digital packet transmission with embedded synchronization data.
3Ease of operation
If one earphone acts as master and the other as slave in a wireless network, then the ease of operation is improved, but the reliability of synchronized audio transmission deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of having the master earphone transmit its audio directly to the slave earphone (traditional master-slave architecture), the patent inverts the approach: both earphones transmit their audio independently to the external device, which then performs the synchronization function. This inversion resolves the contradiction by maintaining the simplicity of master-slave network setup while achieving reliable synchronization through the external device's timestamp-based alignment.
Data Source
AI summary
A wireless headset includes first and second wireless earphone devices, each including a microphone. The first earphone device assembles a first group of audio packets, each of which includes a first low-resolution clock value, a first high-resolution clock value, and a sequence of first microphone samples, and transmits the first plurality of audio packets to the second wireless earphone device, as a slave device of a first wireless network. The second earphone device receives the first group of audio packets from the first wireless earphone device, assembles a second group of audio packets, each of which includes a second low-resolution clock value, a second high-resolution clock value, and a sequence of second microphone samples, and transmits the first and second groups of audio packets to an external device. Other aspects are also described and claimed.