Proximity-detection systems and methods
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for determining that remote devices share an acoustic environment without the need for any of the remote devices to specifically emit an identifiable audio signal, the method comprising:
- obtaining, by the computer, a first digital audio signal representing a first incidental-ambient soundscape that is incidental to a first acoustic environment, as sampled during a first time period by a first remote device;
analyzing, by the computer, said first digital audio signal to identify a portion of said first digital audio signal that includes a non-predetermined plurality of salient frequency components across a first plurality of time windows;
determining, by the computer based at least in part on said non-predetermined plurality of salient frequency components and said first plurality of time windows, an incidental-audio signature specific to said first incidental-ambient soundscape and said first time period;
obtaining, by the computer, a second digital audio signal representing a second incidental-ambient soundscape that is incidental to a second acoustic environment, as sampled during a second time period by a second remote device, wherein at least a portion of said second time period overlaps said first time period;
identifying, by the computer, a temporal portion of said second digital audio signal that matches said incidental-audio signature more closely than other temporal portions of said second digital audio signal;
determining, by the computer, a similarity measure comparing said temporal portion of said second digital audio signal with said incidental-audio signature;
when said similarity measure exceeds a threshold, identifying, by the computer, an acoustic link between said first acoustic environment and said second acoustic environment; and
consequentlyfacilitating, by the computer, said first remote device and said second remote device to access a shared computing resource.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
When two or more devices are near each other, they are likely to hear the same ambient sounds. To detect such proximity, each device captures a short digital audio signal from its microphone and uploads it to a proximity-detecting service along with a timestamp that indicates when the clip was captured. The proximity-detecting service maintains a history of sound clips for its clients and analyzes recently received sound clips that have similar time stamps. The devices can then be grouped according to the similarities of their sound clips. Devices that are grouped together in this way are deemed to be near each other.
9 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for determining that remote devices share an acoustic environment without the need for any of the remote devices to specifically emit an identifiable audio signal, the method comprising:
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obtaining, by the computer, a first digital audio signal representing a first incidental-ambient soundscape that is incidental to a first acoustic environment, as sampled during a first time period by a first remote device; analyzing, by the computer, said first digital audio signal to identify a portion of said first digital audio signal that includes a non-predetermined plurality of salient frequency components across a first plurality of time windows; determining, by the computer based at least in part on said non-predetermined plurality of salient frequency components and said first plurality of time windows, an incidental-audio signature specific to said first incidental-ambient soundscape and said first time period; obtaining, by the computer, a second digital audio signal representing a second incidental-ambient soundscape that is incidental to a second acoustic environment, as sampled during a second time period by a second remote device, wherein at least a portion of said second time period overlaps said first time period; identifying, by the computer, a temporal portion of said second digital audio signal that matches said incidental-audio signature more closely than other temporal portions of said second digital audio signal; determining, by the computer, a similarity measure comparing said temporal portion of said second digital audio signal with said incidental-audio signature; when said similarity measure exceeds a threshold, identifying, by the computer, an acoustic link between said first acoustic environment and said second acoustic environment; and
consequentlyfacilitating, by the computer, said first remote device and said second remote device to access a shared computing resource. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A computing apparatus for determining that remote devices share an acoustic environment without the need for any of the remote devices to specifically emit an identifiable audio signal, the apparatus comprising a processor and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, configure the apparatus to:
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obtain a first digital audio signal representing a first incidental-ambient soundscape that is incidental to a first acoustic environment, as sampled during a first time period by a first remote device; analyze said first digital audio signal to identify a portion of said first digital audio signal that includes a non-predetermined plurality of salient frequency components across a first plurality of time windows; determine, based at least in part on said non-predetermined plurality of salient frequency components and said first plurality of time windows, an incidental-audio signature specific to said first incidental-ambient soundscape and said first time period; obtain a second digital audio signal representing a second incidental-ambient soundscape that is incidental to a second acoustic environment, as sampled during a second time period by a second remote device, wherein at least a portion of said second time period overlaps said first time period; identify a temporal portion of said second digital audio signal that matches said incidental-audio signature more closely than other temporal portions of said second digital audio signal; determine a similarity measure comparing said temporal portion of said second digital audio signal with said incidental-audio signature; when said similarity measure exceeds a threshold, identify an acoustic link between said first acoustic environment and said second acoustic environment; and
consequently;facilitate said first remote device and said second remote device to access a shared computing resource. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions including instructions that, when executed by a processor, configure the processor to:
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obtain a first digital audio signal representing a first incidental-ambient soundscape that is incidental to a first acoustic environment, as sampled during a first time period by a first remote device; analyze said first digital audio signal to identify a portion of said first digital audio signal that includes a non-predetermined plurality of salient frequency components across a first plurality of time windows; determine, based at least in part on said non-predetermined plurality of salient frequency components and said first plurality of time windows, an incidental-audio signature specific to said first incidental-ambient soundscape and said first time period; obtain a second digital audio signal representing a second incidental-ambient soundscape that is incidental to a second acoustic environment, as sampled during a second time period by a second remote device, wherein at least a portion of said second time period overlaps said first time period; identify a temporal portion of said second digital audio signal that matches said incidental-audio signature more closely than other temporal portions of said second digital audio signal; determine a similarity measure comparing said temporal portion of said second digital audio signal with said incidental-audio signature; when said similarity measure exceeds a threshold, identify an acoustic link between said first acoustic environment and said second acoustic environment; and consequently facilitate said first remote device and said second remote device to access a shared computing resource. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification