Chat room system to provide binaural sound at a user location
First Claim
1. A chat room method comprising:
- sending a signal representative of a sound at a first user location to a second user location;
establishing, in a chat room, a first user at a virtual first user location and a second user at a virtual second user location, wherein chat room acoustics are a function of a number of users in the chat room such that increasing the number of users in the chat room reduces accuracy of a sound field simulated in the chat room;
processing the signal at one or more of a plurality of levels of realism related to sound to provide a binaural sound at the second user location having an analogous spatial relationship between the second user location and the first user location as a virtual spatial relationship between the virtual second user location and the virtual first user location; and
selecting a level of realism from the plurality of levels of realism related to sound based on at least one of a number of users in the chat room and a load on computational resources hosting the chat room system,wherein for a first number of users a first level of realism is selected, processing the signal comprises using a frequency-independent sound model with frequencies that are attenuated or delayed,wherein for a second number of users that is less than the first number of users a second level of realism is selected, processing the signal comprises using a frequency-dependent sound model with frequencies that are attenuated or delayed, andwherein for a third number of users that is less than the second number of users a third level of realism is selected, processing the signal comprises using a reflection sound model, wherein a reflection from a structure or object is calculated.
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Abstract
A chat room system is provided that includes sending a signal representative of a sound at a first user location to a second user location and establishing, in a chat room, a virtual first user location and a virtual second user location. It further includes establishing the orientation of a listening system at the second user location and processing the signal, using the orientation of the listening system, at a plurality of levels of realism to provide a binaural sound at the second user location having an analogous spatial relationship between the second user location and the first user location as the virtual spatial relationship between the virtual second user location and the virtual first user location.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A chat room method comprising:
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sending a signal representative of a sound at a first user location to a second user location; establishing, in a chat room, a first user at a virtual first user location and a second user at a virtual second user location, wherein chat room acoustics are a function of a number of users in the chat room such that increasing the number of users in the chat room reduces accuracy of a sound field simulated in the chat room; processing the signal at one or more of a plurality of levels of realism related to sound to provide a binaural sound at the second user location having an analogous spatial relationship between the second user location and the first user location as a virtual spatial relationship between the virtual second user location and the virtual first user location; and selecting a level of realism from the plurality of levels of realism related to sound based on at least one of a number of users in the chat room and a load on computational resources hosting the chat room system, wherein for a first number of users a first level of realism is selected, processing the signal comprises using a frequency-independent sound model with frequencies that are attenuated or delayed, wherein for a second number of users that is less than the first number of users a second level of realism is selected, processing the signal comprises using a frequency-dependent sound model with frequencies that are attenuated or delayed, and wherein for a third number of users that is less than the second number of users a third level of realism is selected, processing the signal comprises using a reflection sound model, wherein a reflection from a structure or object is calculated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A chat room system comprising:
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a sending system for sending a signal representative of a sound at a first user location to a second user location; a listening system for providing binaural sound at the second user location; and a computer system for establishing, in a chat room, wherein chat room acoustics are a function of a number of users in the chat room such that increasing the number of users in the chat room reduces accuracy of a sound field simulated in the chat room, a first user at a virtual first user location and a second user at a virtual second user location, the computer system for processing the signal at one or more of a plurality of levels of realism related to sound to provide the binaural sound at the second user location having an analogous spatial relationship between the second user location and the first user location as a virtual spatial relationship between the virtual second user location and the virtual first user location, and selecting a level of realism from the plurality of levels of realism related to sound based on at least one of a number of users in the chat room and a load on computational resources hosting the chat room system, wherein for a first number of users a first level of realism is selected and the computer system uses a frequency-independent sound model to provide the binaural sound at the second user location with frequencies that are attenuated or delayed, wherein for a second number of users that is less than the first number of users a second level of realism is selected and the computer system uses a frequency-dependent sound model to provide the binaural sound at the second user location with frequencies that are attenuated or delayed, and wherein for a third number of users that is less than the second number of users a third level of realism is selected and the computer system uses a reflection sound model to provide the binaural sound at the second user location, wherein a reflection from a structure or object is calculated. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification