Volume adjustment based on listener position

• US 8,976,986 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2009
• Issued: 03/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Angeloff, Drew, Clavin, John, Walker, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Vivian
• Assistant Examiner(s): HAMID, AMMAR T
• Application Number:
  US12/563,484
• Publication Number:
  US 20110069841A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,996 Days
• Field of Search: 381102-107, 381302-303, 381/58, 381/59, 381/95, 381/96, 381/122, 381/108, 381/307, 382/154, 700/259
• US Class Current: 381/307
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/30 in amplifiers having semiconductor devices
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/3005 in amplifiers suitable for low-frequencies, e.g. audio amplifiers H03G3/32, H03G3/34 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 2400/13 Aspects of volume control, not necessarily automatic, in stereophonic sound systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/303 Tracking of listener position or orientation

Abstract

Volume adjustment based on listener position is disclosed. A position of one or more speakers is identified, and a position of a listener is tracked. For each of the one or more speakers, a changing distance between that speaker and the listener is assessed. A volume of that speaker is automatically adjusted in real-time based on a current distance between that speaker and the listener.

Claims

1. A method of regulating volume, the method comprising:

receiving a stream of depth images generated by an arbitrarily-placed depth camera imaging a three-dimensional world space from a singular vantage point;

recognizing from the stream of depth images a position of a listener in the three-dimensional world space;

tracking a position of the listener within the three-dimensional world space in a plurality of depth images;

for each of one or more speakers within the three-dimensional world space, identifying in the plurality of depth images a three-dimensional position physically indicated by the listener and recognizing that three-dimensional position as the three-dimensional position of that speaker;

tracking a position of a listener relative to each of the one or more speakers within the three-dimensional world space;

for each of the one or more speakers, assessing a changing distance between that speaker and the listener in the three-dimensional world space; and

automatically adjusting a volume of each of the one or more speakers in real-time based on a current distance between each respective speaker and the listener.

2. The method of claim 1, where assessing the changing distance between that speaker and the listener includes calculating a distance between the position of that speaker and the position of the listener at two or more different times.

3. The method of claim 1, where automatically adjusting the volume of that speaker includes adjusting an audio output level as a function of the current distance.

4. The method of claim 3, where automatically adjusting the volume of that speaker includes exponentially adjusting an audio output level as a function of the current distance.

5. The method of claim 3, where automatically adjusting the volume of that speaker includes linearly adjusting an audio output level as a function of the current distance.

6. The method of claim 1, where identifying the three-dimensional position for each of the one or more speakers includes, for each speaker:

emitting an audio signal configured to cause that speaker to produce a test sound;

tracking a position of a moving microphone within the three-dimensional world space in a plurality of depth images; and

for each of a plurality of different positions of the moving microphone, correlating that position with a volume of the test sound as perceived by the microphone at that position.

7. A method of regulating volume, the method comprising:

receiving a stream of depth images generated by an arbitrarily-placed depth camera imaging a three-dimensional world space from a singular vantage point of a scene;

recognizing from the stream of depth images a listener in the depth image;

tracking a position of the listener within the three-dimensional world space in a plurality of depth images;

for each of a plurality of surround sound speakers within the three-dimensional world space, identifying in the plurality of depth images a three-dimensional position physically indicated by the listener and recognizing that three-dimensional position as the three-dimensional position of that speaker;

assessing a distance between the three-dimensional position of the listener and the three-dimensional position of each of the plurality of surround sound speakers; and

automatically setting a volume of each of the plurality of surround sound speakers based on the distance between the three-dimensional position of that speaker and the three-dimensional position of the listener.

8. The method of claim 7, where automatically setting the volume of each of the plurality of surround sound speakers includes adjusting an audio output level for that speaker as a function of the distance between the three-dimensional position of that speaker and the three-dimensional position of the listener.

9. The method of claim 7, where automatically setting the volume of each of the plurality of surround sound speakers includes exponentially adjusting an audio output level for that speaker as a function of the distance between the three-dimensional position of that speaker and the three-dimensional position of the listener.

10. The method of claim 7, where automatically setting the volume of each of the plurality of surround sound speakers includes linearly adjusting an audio output level for that speaker as a function of the distance between the three-dimensional position of that speaker and the three-dimensional position of the listener.

11. A computing system, comprising:

an audio output configured to send an audio signal to a speaker or amplifier;

a depth camera input configured to receive depth information useable to construct a depth image;

a logic subsystem operatively connected to the audio output and the depth camera; and

a data-holding subsystem holding instructions executable by the logic subsystem to;

receive a stream of depth images generated by an arbitrarily-placed depth camera imaging a three-dimensional world space from a singular vantage point;

recognize a listener in the stream of depth images;

identify from the stream of depth images a three-dimensional position of the listener in the three-dimensional world space;

for each of one or more speakers within the three-dimensional world space, identify from the plurality of depth images a three-dimensional position physically indicated by the listener and recognizing that three-dimensional position as the three-dimensional position of that speaker;

assess a distance between the three-dimensional position of the listener and the three-dimensional position of that speaker; and

automatically set a level of the audio signal based on the distance between the three-dimensional position of the listener and the three-dimensional position of the speaker.

12. The computing system of claim 11, where the audio output is one of a plurality of surround sound audio outputs, each surround sound audio output configured to send an audio signal to a different surround sound speaker.

13. The computing system of claim 11, where the data-holding subsystem holds instructions executable by the logic subsystem to automatically set the level of the audio signal as an exponential function of the distance between the three-dimensional position of that speaker and the three-dimensional position of the listener.

14. The computing system of claim 11, where the data-holding subsystem holds instructions executable by the logic subsystem to automatically set the level of the audio signal as a linear function of the distance between the three-dimensional position of that speaker and the three-dimensional position of the listener.

15. The computing system of claim 11, further comprising a microphone, and where the data-holding subsystem holds instructions executable by the logic subsystem to cause the audio output to emit an audio signal configured to cause the speaker to produce a test sound;

track a position in a three-dimensional world space of the microphone in a plurality of depth images from the depth camera; and

for each of a plurality of positions of the microphone, correlate a perceived volume of the audio signal with the position of the microphone.

16. The computing system of claim 11, where the depth camera includes a time-of-flight depth camera.

17. The computing system of claim 11, where the depth camera includes a structured light depth camera.

18. The computing system of claim 11, where the depth camera includes stereo depth cameras.