Method for creating a customizable synchronized audio recording using audio signals from mobile recording devices

• US 9,693,137 B1
• Filed: 11/17/2015
• Issued: 06/27/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Audiohand, Inc., Auidohand Inc.
• Original Assignee: Audiohand, Inc.
• Inventors: Qureshi, Haseeb, Sexton, Jonathan, Montgomery, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Gauthier, Gerald
• Application Number:
  US14/943,641
• Time in Patent Office: 588 Days
• Field of Search: 84622, 348 1401, 348192, 356477, 381 17, 381 7112, 381 92, 381 97, 381300, 463 43, 704267, 704275, 715202, 715723
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/0208 Noise filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/031 Electronic editing of digitised analogue information signals, e.g. audio or video signals
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/10 Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/322 used signal is digitally coded
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2227/003 Digital PA systems using, e.g. LAN or internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/11 Transducers incorporated or for use in hand-held devices, e.g. mobile phones, PDA's, camera's
• 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: H04R 5/027 Spatial or constructional arrangements of microphones, e.g. in dummy heads
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/04 Circuit arrangements, e.g. for selective connection of amplifier inputs/outputs to loudspeakers, for loudspeaker detection, or for adaptation of settings to personal preferences or hearing impairments combinations of amplifiers H03F3/68; stereophonic systems H04S
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 2400/15 Aspects of sound capture and related signal processing for recording or reproduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/307 Frequency adjustment, e.g. tone control H04S7/301 takes precedence

Abstract

A system and method for creating a synchronized audio signal having a variable sound perspective from a plurality of audio signals captured by mobile recording devices. The system includes an audio source for producing an audio signal, mobile devices for capturing the audio signal as audio recordings. The mobile devices are connected to a server via a communications network. The audio recordings are transmitted from the mobile devices to the server over the communications network. The server receives the audio recordings and saves them to a database. A mixer accesses the saved audio recordings and then aligns, mixes, and modifies them according to mixing instructions to produce a synchronized recording having a first sound perspective. A user may provide input to the server to generate new mixing instructions, and the mixer generates an updated synchronized recording having a second sound perspective in response to those new mixing instructions.

Claims

1. A method for creating a synchronized audio signal having a variable sound perspective from a plurality of audio signals captured by mobile recording devices, the method comprising the steps of:

providing two or more mobile recording devices that are each configured to send and receive information wirelessly over a communications network;

recording at least a portion of an event to a memory of the mobile recording devices using an on-board microphone to generate an audio signal, wherein each audio signal has an audio profile;

transmitting the audio signals from each of the mobile recording devices to a server;

receiving at the server the audio signals transmitted from the plurality of mobile recording devices;

using a mixer that is in communication with the server, comparing the audio signals and identifying at least two audio signals wherein at least a portion of the audio profiles are substantially identical;

using the mixer, determining a first time misalignment between the substantially identical portions of the at least two audio signals;

using the mixer, applying a first time shift to one or more of the at least two audio signals based on the first time misalignment;

using the mixer, mixing the time-shifted at least two audio signals to generate a first synchronized audio signal having a first sound perspective.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of delivering a copy of the first synchronized audio signal to an audio playback device.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of re-mixing the time-shifted at least two audio signals using the mixer to generate a second synchronized audio signal having a second sound perspective that is different from the first sound perspective.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of using the mixer to identify local noise present in one of the at least two audio signals but not present in the other one of the at least two audio signals and to filter the local noise out of the first synchronized audio signal.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the mobile recording device is operable to function as a mobile telephone having a microphone.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the at least two of the audio signals includes bleed over audio from the other of the at least two audio signals and wherein at least a portion of the substantially identical portions comprises the bleed over audio.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving mixing instructions from a user transmitted to server via the communications network and mixing the time-shifted at least two audio signals user the mixer, which is remote from the user, according to the mixing instructions.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein each audio profile is comprised of the amplitude, frequency and time of the audio signal.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the audio signals are transmitted from the mobile recording devices to a server that is remote from the mobile recording devices wirelessly via a communications network.

10. A system for creating a synchronized audio signal having a variable sound perspective comprising:

two or more mobile recording devices, each having a microphone, and that are each configured to generate a recording of at least a portion of an event using the microphone, where the recording has an audio signal having an audio profile;

a server configured to receive the audio signals from the two or more recording devices;

an audio signal mixer that is in communication with the server and that is configured to (i) compare the plurality of audio signals and to identify at least two of the audio signals wherein at least a portion of the audio profiles are substantially identical, (ii) determine a first time misalignment between the substantially identical portions of the at least two audio signals, (iii) apply a time shift based on the time misalignment to time align the substantially identical portions of the at least two audio signals such that the at least two audio signals are in unison, and (iv) mix the time-shifted at least two audio signals to generate a first synchronized audio signal having a first sound perspective that is the result of mixing the audio profiles associated with the time-shifted at least two audio signals.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein each audio profile is comprised of the amplitude, frequency and time of the audio signal.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein each of the two or more mobile recording devices has a transmitter and is configured to transmit the recording wirelessly over a communications network to the server using the transmitter.