Information processing system and storage medium

• US 10,075,801 B2
• Filed: 04/19/2013
• Issued: 09/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sako, Yoichiro, Asada, Kohei, Sakoda, Kazuyuki, Aratani, Katsuhisa, Takehara, Mitsuru, Nakamura, Takatoshi, Watanabe, Kazuhiro, Tange, Akira, Hanaya, Hiroyuki, Koga, Yuki, Onuma, Tomoya
• Primary Examiner(s): Monikang, George C
• Application Number:
  US14/413,024
• Publication Number:
  US 20150208191A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,971 Days
• Field of Search: 381300, 381303, 381 92, 381122, 381 59, 379 9303, 379 9321
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2021/02166 Microphone arrays; Beamforming
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/403 loud-speakers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/406 microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2201/405 Non-uniform arrays of transducers or a plurality of uniform arrays with different transducer spacing
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2430/23 Direction finding using a sum-delay beam-former
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/12 for distributing signals to two or more loudspeakers specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/027 Spatial or constructional arrangements of microphones, e.g. in dummy heads
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 2420/13 Application of wave-field synthesis in stereophonic audio systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/302 Electronic adaptation of stereophonic sound system to listener position or orientation H04S7/301 takes precedence

Abstract

An information processing system including a recognizing unit configured to recognize a given target on the basis of signals detected by a plurality of sensors arranged around a specific user, an identifying unit configured to identify the given target recognized by the recognizing unit, an estimating unit configured to estimate a position of the specific user in accordance with the a signal detected by any one of the plurality of sensors, and a signal processing unit configured to process signals acquired from sensors around the given target identified by the identifying unit in a manner that, when output from a plurality of actuators arranged around the specific user, the signals are localized near the position of the specific user estimated by the estimating unit.

Claims

1. An information processing system comprising:

circuitry configured to;

acquire an ID of a specific user from a tag possessed by the specific user to identify the specific user;

recognize a given target for communication with the specific user based on signals detected by a plurality of sensors arranged around the specific user by identifying a command within the signals, the given target being separate from the specific user;

estimate a position of the specific user in accordance with the signals detected by any one of the plurality of sensors;

select a group of sensors from the plurality of sensors that is optimal for acquisition of the signals detected by the plurality of sensors based on the estimated position of the specific user, a direction of the specific user and a position of the mouth of the specific user;

output the signals acquired by the group of sensors to the given target;

identify access destination information corresponding to the given target for acquiring other signals from the given target based on the recognized given target;

process the other signals acquired from another plurality of sensors around the given target in response to the output signals; and

select a subset of a plurality of actuators arranged around the specific user to output the other signals to the specific user based on the estimated position of the specific user,

wherein after selecting the group of sensors, the circuitry performs super directivity of the group of sensors via a delay-and-sum array processing and null generation processing directed at the mouth of the specific user.

2. The information processing system according to claim 1,

wherein the plurality of sensors arranged around the specific user are microphones, and

wherein the circuitry is configured to recognize the given target based on audio signals detected by the microphones.

3. The information processing system according to claim 1,

wherein the circuitry is configured to recognize a request to the given target based on the signals detected by the plurality of sensors arranged around the specific user.

4. The information processing system according to claim 3,

wherein the plurality of sensors arranged around the specific user are microphones, and

wherein the circuitry is configured to recognize the request to the given target based on audio signals detected by the microphones.

5. The information processing system according to claim 3,

wherein the plurality of sensors arranged around the specific user are pressure sensors, and

wherein, when a press on a specific switch is detected by the pressure sensors, the circuitry is configured to recognize the request to the given target.

6. The information processing system according to claim 3,

wherein the plurality of sensors arranged around the specific user are image sensors, and

wherein the circuitry is configured to recognize the request to the given target based on captured images obtained by the image sensors.

7. The information processing system according to claim 1,

wherein the another plurality of sensors around the given target are microphones,

wherein the plurality of actuators arranged around the specific user are a plurality of speakers, and

wherein the circuitry is configured to process audio signals acquired by the microphones around the given target in a manner that a sound field is formed near a position of the specific user when output from the plurality of speakers, based on respective positions of the plurality of speakers and the estimated position of the specific user.

8. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to select a subset of the plurality of sensors that detect the signals based on the estimated position of the specific user.

9. The information processing system according to claim 8, wherein the circuitry is configured to determine directivity of the subset of the plurality of sensors based on the estimated position of the specific user.

10. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to select another subset of the plurality of actuators arranged around the specific user to output new signals to the specific user based on a new estimated position of the specific user, the new estimated position of the specific user being different from the estimated position of the specific user.

11. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to select another subset of the plurality of actuators arranged around the specific user to output new signals to the specific user based on a new estimated position of the specific user, the new estimated position of the specific user being different from the estimated position of the specific user.

12. An information processing system comprising:

circuitry configured to;

recognize a given target for communication with a specific user based on signals detected by a plurality of sensors around the specific user by identifying a command within the signals, the given target being separate from the specific user, wherein the specific user is identified by acquiring an ID of a specific user from a tag possessed by the specific user; and

generate processed signals to be output from a selected subset of actuators around the specific user based on other signals acquired by other sensors arranged around the given target based on access destination information corresponding to the given target and in response to signals acquired from the specific user by a group of sensors, the group of sensors being sensors selected from the plurality of sensors that are optimal for acquisition of the signals detected by the plurality of sensors based on an estimated position of the specific user, a direction of the specific user and a position of the mouth of the specific user, the group of sensors having super directivity via a delay-and-sum array processing and null generation processing directed at the mouth of the specific user performed thereon after selection, the subset of actuators being selected based on the estimated position of the specific user.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including computer-readable instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to execute a method comprising:

acquiring an ID of a specific user from a tag possessed by the specific user to identify the specific user;

recognizing a given target for communication with the specific user based on signals detected by a plurality of sensors arranged around the specific user by identifying a command within the signals, the given target being separate from the specific user;

estimating a position of the specific user in accordance with the signals detected by any one of the plurality of sensors;

selecting a group of sensors from the plurality of sensors that is optimal for acquisition of the signals detected by the plurality of sensors based on the estimated position of the specific user, a direction of the specific user and a position of the mouth of the specific user;

performing, after selecting the group of sensors, super directivity of the group of sensors via a delay-and-sum array processing and null generation processing directed at the mouth of the specific user;

outputting the signals acquired by the group of sensors to the given target;

identifying access destination information corresponding to the given target for acquiring other signals from the given target based on the recognized given target

processing the other signals acquired from another plurality of sensors around the given target in response to the output signals; and

selecting a subset of a plurality of actuators arranged around the specific user to output the other signals to the specific user based on the estimated position of the specific user.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including computer-readable instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to execute a method comprising:

recognizing a given target for communication with a specific user based on signals detected by a plurality of sensors around the specific user by identifying a command within the signals, the given target being separate from the specific user, wherein the specific user is identified by acquiring an ID of a specific user from a tag possessed by the specific user; and

generating processed signals to be output from a selected subset of actuators around the specific user based on other signals acquired by other sensors arranged around the given target based on access destination information corresponding to the given target and in response to signals acquired from the specific user by a group of sensors, the group of sensors being sensors selected from the plurality of sensors that are optimal for acquisition of the signals detected by the plurality of sensors based on an estimated position of the specific user, a direction of the specific user and a position of the mouth of the specific user, the group of sensors having super directivity via a delay-and-sum array processing and null generation processing directed at the mouth of the specific user performed thereon after selection, the subset of actuators being selected based on the estimated position of the specific user.