APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR AUDIO MAPPING

• US 20110054890A1
• Filed: 08/25/2009
• Published: 03/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Ketola, Aarne Vesa Pekka, Johansson, Panu Marten Jesper
• Application Number:
  US12/546,905
• Publication Number:
  US 20110054890A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/231
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/06 Transformation of speech into a non-audible representation, e.g. speech visualisation or speech processing for tactile aids G10L15/26 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/00 Speech or voice analysis techniques not restricted to a single one of groups G10L15/00 - G10L21/00 muting semiconductor-based amplifiers when some special characteristics of a signal are sensed by a speech detector, e.g. sensing when no signal is present, H03G3/34

Abstract

A mobile phone, and corresponding method, which is arranged to detect sounds of different types and to indicate to a user the direction from which those sounds are coming from. The mobile phone includes a microphone for recording sound and a display for providing feedback to the user. The phone also includes a sound mapping program which is arranged to interpret the sound recorded by the microphone and to provide an audio map of detected sounds. This is presented to the user on the display.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to;

identify at least one audio type based on a signal representative of sound;

determine the direction of any of said identified audio types; and

provide feed-back to a user of the identified audio types and the direction of said audio types.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising at least one audio input, wherein said signal representative of sound is received via said at least one audio input.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said at least one audio input port is at least one microphone.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display, and said feed-back is displayed on said display.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a motion sensor, and said processor uses an output from said motion sensor to determine the direction of the at least one audio type.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a digital compass, and said processor uses an output from said digital compass to determine the direction of the at least one audio type.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1, having a plurality of audio profiles stored thereon, and said processor identifies audio types based on said audio profiles.

8. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said audio input port is suitable for a microphone to be coupled to.

9. A personal mobile communication device comprising the apparatus of claim 1

10. A method comprising:

identifying at least one audio type based on a signal representative of sound received via at least one audio input;

determining the direction of any of said identified audio types; and

providing feed-back to a user of the identified audio types and the direction of said audio types.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein providing feed-back includes providing feed-back via a display.

12. A method according to claim 10, wherein determining direction is done using a motion sensor.

13. A method according to claim 10, wherein determining direction is done using a digital compass.

14. A method according to claim 10, wherein identifying at least one audio type is done using a plurality of audio profiles.

15. A method according to claim 10, further comprising navigating a user to an audio type selected by a user.

16. A method according to claim 10, wherein identifying at least one audio type includes identifying a single audio type selected by a user.

17. A method according to claim 10, wherein identifying at least one audio type includes identifying all audio types present in said signal representative of sound.

18. A computer program or suite of computer programs arranged such that when executed by a computer they cause the computer to operate in accordance with the method of claims 10 to 17.

19. A computer readable medium storing the computer program, or at least one of the suites of computer programs, according to claim 15.

20. An operating system for causing a computing device to operate in accordance with a method as claimed in claims 10 to 17.