Wireless Teleconferencing Audio Filtering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conference calls face challenges such as difficulty in hearing non-collocated participants, ambient noise interference, varying audio volumes, manual phone number entry, physical manipulation of speakerphones, and identifying speakers, which diminish the effectiveness of the calls.
Innovation Solution
A wireless teleconferencing system that tracks participant locations, transmitting composite audio signals to wireless headsets, creating subconferences and whispering effects, and bridging audio messages to manage distractions and improve call clarity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all participants receive the complete composite audio signal, then all participants can hear all speakers, but collocated participants experience interference from audio signals they can already hear directly
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different audio signal processing to different participants based on their location. Collocated participants receive filtered audio excluding their local speakers, while remote participants receive the complete composite signal. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by tailoring the audio quality to each participant's specific situation.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of providing all participants with the same complete audio signal, the system inverts the approach by providing collocated participants with a selectively filtered signal that excludes local speakers. This inversion resolves the interference problem while maintaining audio completeness for those who need it.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the system transmits audio signals to all participants, then everyone can participate in the conference call, but ambient noises and echoes cause further interference
Solution Approach 1:
The system differentiates audio processing based on participant location and environment. Participants in environments with ambient noise or echoes receive the complete composite signal, while collocated participants in quieter environments receive filtered signals. This resolves the contradiction by adapting audio delivery to each participant's specific environmental conditions.
3Reliability
If the system provides audio signals to remote participants, then they can hear non-collocated participants, but they cannot observe the speaker's nonverbal cues
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses visual displays as an intermediary to compensate for the loss of nonverbal cues in remote participants. Video feeds or visual indicators are provided to remote participants to convey speaker identity and nonverbal information, resolving the contradiction between audio communication reliability and information completeness.
4Reliability
If the system manages audio signals for all participants, then audio clarity is improved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments audio processing into distinct components: composite signal generation, participant location tracking, collocation determination, and selective filtering. This segmentation allows the complex system to be broken into manageable modules, resolving the contradiction between audio clarity and system complexity by organizing the processing logic into discrete, manageable segments.
Data Source
AI summary
A technique for improving the effectiveness of conference calls is disclosed. The present invention is a teleconferencing system that is based upon wireless technology. Access points, one or more per conference area, distribute the audio to and from each participant in the conference area. Wireless terminals are used by the participants to receive audio from other participants that are not collocated and to transmit audio to other participants that are not collocated. The teleconferencing system tracks which participants are collocated with each other versus not collocated with each other and transmits a composite audio signal to each participant.