METHODS, APPARATUSES, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCTS FOR PROVIDING BROADBAND AUDIO SIGNALS ASSOCIATED WITH NAVIGATION INSTRUCTIONS

• US 20140244265A1
• Filed: 02/28/2013
• Published: 08/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: McClure, Kenneth, Ashbrook, Daniel
• Granted Patent: US 9,304,010 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/270
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3629 Guidance using speech or audio output, e.g. text-to-speech text to speech systems per se G10L13/00

Abstract

Methods, apparatuses, and computer program products are herein provided for providing broadband audio signal navigation instructions. A method may include determining a broadband audio signal associated with at least one navigation instruction. The method may further include causing the broadband audio signal to be provided to the user. The broadband audio signal may be a representation of an audio signal with components in all frequencies capable of being at least one of perceived or broadcast by a speaker. Corresponding apparatuses and computer program products are also provided.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining a broadband audio signal associated with at least one navigation instruction; and

causing the broadband audio signal to be provided to the user.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the broadband audio signal comprises a representation of an audio signal with components in all frequencies capable of being broadcast by a speaker.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the broadband audio signal comprises determining the broadband audio signal from a plurality of broadband audio signal candidates.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the broadband audio signal associated with the navigation instruction comprises, in an instance in which the navigation instruction comprises a continue on the current path instruction, determining a white noise signal.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the broadband audio signal associated with the navigation instruction comprises, in an instance in which the navigation instruction comprises a turn instruction, determining one of a pink noise signal or a blue noise signal.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the broadband audio signal associated with the navigation instruction comprises, in an instance in which the navigation instruction comprises a turn in a predefined direction instruction, determining a pink noise signal.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein determining the broadband audio signal associated with the navigation instruction comprises, in an instance in which the navigation instruction comprises a turn in a second predefined direction instruction, determining a blue noise signal.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein causing the broadband audio signal to be provided to the user comprises causing the broadband audio signal to be provided based at least in part on a distance between the user and a location associated with the navigation instruction.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein causing the broadband audio signal to be provided to the user comprises causing the broadband audio signal to be provided at a volume level proportional to the distance between the user and the location associated with the navigation instruction.

10. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

determining a second broadband audio signal associated with at least one second navigation instruction; and

causing a transition from the broadband audio signal being provided to the user to the second broadband audio signal being provided to the user.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein causing the transition comprises causing the transition from the broadband audio signal being provided to the user to the second broadband audio signal being provided to the user at a transition rate proportional to a distance between the user and a location associated with the second navigation instruction.

12. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

determining a second broadband audio signal associated with the navigation instruction; and

causing a transition from the broadband audio signal being provided to the user to the second broadband audio signal being provided to the user.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one navigation instruction is associated with a first broadband audio signal and a second broadband audio signal.

14. The method according to claim 1 further comprising causing at least one audio navigation instruction associated with the navigation instruction to be provided to the user concurrent with causing the broadband audio signal to be provided to the user.

15. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

causing at least one audio navigation instruction associated with the navigation instruction to be provided to the user; and

causing the broadband audio signal to cease to be provided to the user concurrent with causing the at least one audio navigation instruction to be provided to the user.

16. The method according to claim 1 further comprising causing at least one visual navigation instruction associated with the navigation instruction to be provided to the user concurrent with causing the broadband audio signal to be provided to the user.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to determine the broadband audio signal by determining the broadband audio signal from a plurality of broadband audio signal candidates.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to cause the broadband audio signal to be provided to the user by causing the broadband audio signal to be provided based at least in part on a distance between the user and a location associated with the navigation instruction.

17. An apparatus comprising a processor and a memory including computer program code, the memory and the computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to:

determine a broadband audio signal associated with a navigation instruction; and

cause the broadband audio signal to be provided to the user.

20. Computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium having program code portions stored thereon, the program code portions being a computer readable medium and configured when said program product is run on a computer or network device, to:

determine a broadband audio signal associated with at least one navigation instruction from a plurality of broadband audio signal candidates; and

cause the broadband audio signal to be provided to the user.