Telescopic spatial radio system

• US 8,718,301 B1
• Filed: 10/25/2004
• Issued: 05/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Jouppi, Norman Paul, Iyer, Subramoniam N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Duc
• Assistant Examiner(s): BLAIR, KILE O
• Application Number:
  US10/973,794
• Time in Patent Office: 3,480 Days
• Field of Search: 381/310, 381/17, 381/309, 381/18, 381/19, 381/58, 381/59, 381/74, 381/77, 381/80, 381/85
• US Class Current: 381/310
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/568 audio processing specific to telephonic conferencing, e.g. spatial distribution, mixing of participants echo suppression in two-way loud-speaking telephone systems H04M9/02; sound field processing per se H04S7/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/07 Use of position data from wide-area or local-area positioning systems in hearing devices, e.g. program or information selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 27/00 Public address systems circuits for preventing acoustic reaction H04R3/02; circuits for distributing signals to loudspeakers H04R3/12; monitoring or testing arrangements for public address systems H04R29/007; amplifiers H03F
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 2400/11 Positioning of individual sound objects, e.g. moving airplane, within a sound field H04S2420/13 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 2420/01 Enhancing the perception of the sound image or of the spatial distribution using head related transfer functions [HRTF's] or equivalents thereof, e.g. interaural time difference [ITD] or interaural level difference [ILD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/303 Tracking of listener position or orientation

Abstract

A telescopic spatial radio system is provided for sending a signal representative of a sound at a speaker location to a listener location, the signal providing positioning information of the speaker location relative to the listener location and processing the signal using the positioning information to provide a telescopic zoomable binaural sound at the listener location having a simulated spatial relationship based on the position information of the speaker location relative to the listener location.

Claims

1. A telescopic spatial radio method comprising:

sending a signal representative of a sound at a speaker location to a listener location, the signal providing positioning information of the speaker location relative to the listener location;

processing the signal using the positioning information to provide telescopic binaural sound at the listener location having a simulated spatial relationship based on the position information of the speaker location relative to the listener location;

providing the binaural sound to have simulated spatial relationships based on the positions and distances of a plurality of speaker locations relative to the listener location;

zooming in or out the binaural sound to a simulated distance among the plurality of speaker locations and the listener location based on the number of speaker locations, sound volumes from the speaker locations, distances of the speaker locations, positions of the speaker locations, or a combination thereof to the listener location; and

generating audible output of the telescopic binaural sound at the listener location.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein processing the signal comprises:

providing the binaural sound to have simulated spatial relationships based on the position information of a plurality of speaker locations relative to the listener location; and

simulating distances for the simulated spatial relationships between each of the plurality of speaker locations and the listener location using ratios based on the furthest distance intelligible speaker location.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

approximating the position of the speaker location or the listener location when the positioning information of the speaker location relative to the listener location cannot be determined.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

providing a virtual position of the speaker location or the listener location; and

processing the signal to have the simulated spatial relationship conform to the virtual position.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising receiving user input with respect to a zoom control to define a radius about the listener location, and wherein the generating comprises generating the audible output of the telescopic binaural sound at the listener location as a result of the speaker location being within the radius defined by the user input.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6 further comprising receiving another signal at the listener location which was transmitted from another speaker location outside of the radius, and not generating audible output of the another signal as a result of the another speaker location being outside of the radius.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the processing comprises processing to provide the telescopic binaural sound having the simulated spatial relationship based on the position information of the speaker location relative to the listener location, and wherein at least one of the speaker location and the listener location is a virtual location which does not correspond to a physical position of a respective one of a speaker of the sound and a listener of the sound.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

receiving user input with respect to a zoom control to define a radius about the listener location; and

providing the telescopic binaural sound at the listener location as a result of the speaker location being within the radius defined by the user input.

11. The method as claimed in claim 3 further comprising:

providing a virtual position of the speaker location or the listener location, the virtual position set manually or set automatically to remain proximate the speaker location; and

processing the signal to have the simulated spatial relationship conform to changes in the virtual position.

5. A telescopic spatial radio method comprising:

sending a signal representative of a sound at a speaker location to a listener location, the signal providing positioning information of the speaker location relative to the listener location;

processing the signal using the positioning information to provide telescopic binaural sound at the listener location having a simulated spatial relationship based on the position information of the speaker location relative to the listener location; and

generating audible output of the telescopic binaural sound at the listener location;

wherein the processing comprises automatically adjusting, without user input, a magnification of the telescopic binaural sound based upon a number of active speakers.

10. A telescopic spatial radio method comprising:

sending a signal representative of a sound at a speaker location to a listener location, the signal providing positioning information of the speaker location relative to the listener location, the signal connected by a wireless network in a centralized, a distributed, or a combination centralized and distributed network connection between the speaker location and the listener location;

processing the signal using the positioning information to provide a telescopic zoomable binaural sound manually, automatically, and manually and automatically adjustable at the listener location having a simulated spatial relationship based on the position information and head orientation information of a listener at the listener location;

processing the signal to provide monaural sound when no positioning information is available at the listener location; and

generating audible output of at least one of the telescopic zoomable binaural sound and the monaural sound at the listener location.

12. A telescopic spatial radio (TSR) system comprising:

a speaker TSR system for sending a signal representative of a sound at a speaker location to a listener location, the signal providing positioning information of the speaker location relative to the listener location; and

a listener TSR system for processing the signal using the positioning information to provide a telescopic binaural sound at the listener location having a simulated spatial relationship based on the position information of the speaker location relative to the listener location;

the listener TSR system further comprising;

a processor for providing the binaural sound to have simulated spatial relationships based on the positions and distances of a plurality of speaker locations relative to the listener location; and

a zoom control for zooming in or out the binaural sound to a simulated distance among the plurality of speaker locations and the listener location based on the number of speaker locations, sound volumes from the speaker locations, distances of the speaker locations, positions of the speaker locations, or a combination thereof to the listener location.

13. The system as claimed in claim 12 wherein the listener TSR system comprises:

a processor for providing the binaural sound to have simulated spatial relationships based on the position information of a plurality of speaker locations relative to the listener location; and

the processor for simulating distances for the simulated spatial relationships between each of the plurality of speaker locations and the listener location using ratios based on the furthest distance intelligible speaker location.

14. The system as claimed in claim 12 wherein the speaker TSR system or the listener TSR system comprises:

a position sensing system for approximating the position of the speaker location or the listener location when the positioning information of the speaker location relative to the listener location cannot be determined.

15. The system as claimed in claim 12 wherein the listener TSR system comprises:

a virtual position control for providing a virtual position of the speaker location or the listener location; and

a processor for processing the signal to have the simulated spatial relationship conform to the virtual position.

16. The system as claimed in claim 12 wherein the listener TSR system comprises a zoom control configured to receive user input which defines a radius around a position of the listener TSR system to prevent generation of sound by the listener TSR system as a result of signals received from sources which are located outside of the radius.

17. A telescopic spatial radio (TSR) system comprising:

a speaker TSR system for sending a signal representative of a sound at a speaker location to a listener location, the signal providing positioning information of the speaker location relative to the listener location, the signal connected by a wireless network in a centralized, a distributed, or a combination centralized and distributed network connection between the speaker location and the listener location; and

a listener TSR system for processing the signal using the positioning information to provide a telescopic zoomable binaural sound manually, automatically, and manually and automatically adjustable at the listener location having a simulated spatial relationship based on the position information and head orientation information of a listener at the listener location, the listener TSR system for processing the signal to provide monaural sound when no positioning information is available at the listener location.

18. The system as claimed in claim 17 wherein the listener TSR system comprises:

a processor for providing the binaural sound to have simulated spatial relationships based on the position information of a plurality of speaker locations relative to the listener location;

the processor for further processing the binaural signal using the head orientation information and a head-related transfer function; and

the processor for simulating distances for the simulated spatial relationships between each of the plurality of speaker locations and the listener location using ratios based on the furthest distance intelligible speaker location.

19. The system as claimed in claim 17 wherein the listener TSR system comprises:

a processor for providing the binaural sound to have simulated spatial relationships based on the positions and distances of a plurality of speaker locations relative to the listener location;

a zoom control for zooming in or out the binaural sound to a simulated distance among the plurality of speaker locations and the listener location manually or based on the number of speaker locations, sound volumes from the speaker locations, distances of the speaker locations, positions of the speaker locations, or a combination thereof to the listener location.

20. The system as claimed in claim 17 wherein the speaker TSR system further comprises:

a position sensing system for approximating the position of the speaker location or the listener location when the positioning information of the speaker location relative to the listener location cannot be determined; and

a processor for providing expected position error information with the signal; and

the listener TSR system further comprises;

a processor for disabling the providing of the binaural sound while the position error information indicates a position error larger than a predetermined distance.

21. The system as claimed in claim 17 the listener TSR system further comprises:

a virtual position control for providing a virtual position of the speaker location or the listener location, the virtual position set manually or set automatically to remain proximate the speaker location; and

a processor for processing the signal to have the simulated spatial relationship conform to changes in the virtual position.