System and method for listener controlled beamforming
First Claim
1. A method to provide assistive listening for a plurality of listeners in an environment comprising a plurality of acoustics sources, the method comprising:
- receiving, at one or more microphone arrays located in an environment, an acoustic signal from each of a plurality of acoustic sources located in the environment, wherein one or more of the plurality of acoustic sources are mobile acoustic sources;
transmitting the acoustic signal received from each of the plurality of acoustic sources located in the environment to an acoustic beam forming processor;
determining, at the acoustic beamforming processor, a location of each of the plurality of acoustic sources in the environment;
transmitting, from the acoustic beamforming processor, the location of each of the plurality of acoustic sources in the environment to one or more listener-controlled interface devices located in the environment, wherein each of the one or more listener-controlled interface devices are located distant from the acoustic beamforming processor;
displaying the location of each of the plurality of acoustic sources in the environment on the one or more listener-controlled interface devices;
selecting a target location of a mobile acoustic source from the locations displayed on the one or more listener-controlled interface devices;
processing, at the acoustic beamforming processor, the acoustic signals from each of the plurality of acoustic sources to generate a steered beam pattern focused at the target location of the mobile acoustic source selected on each of the one or more listener-controlled interface devices;
transmitting, from the acoustic beamforming processor, the steered beam pattern to one or more of the listener-controlled interface devices based upon the target location of the mobile acoustic source selected on the listener-controlled interface device;
tracking, at the acoustic beamforming device, the movement of the target location of the mobile acoustic source using a an acoustic tracking algorithm; and
adjusting, at the acoustic beamforming device, the steered beam pattern based upon the movement of the target location of the mobile acoustic source.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for providing assistive listening for a plurality of listeners in an environment including a plurality of acoustic sources. A microphone array in combination with an acoustic beamforming processor configured to receive the acoustic signals within the environment and to process the acoustic signals based upon a target location of an acoustic signal selected on a listener-controlled interface device to generate a steered beam pattern. The acoustic beamforming processor further configured to transmit the steered beam pattern to the listener-controlled interface device based on the target location selected. The listener-controlled interface device configured to provide the steered beam pattern to an ear-level transducer of a hearing-impaired listener.
40 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method to provide assistive listening for a plurality of listeners in an environment comprising a plurality of acoustics sources, the method comprising:
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receiving, at one or more microphone arrays located in an environment, an acoustic signal from each of a plurality of acoustic sources located in the environment, wherein one or more of the plurality of acoustic sources are mobile acoustic sources; transmitting the acoustic signal received from each of the plurality of acoustic sources located in the environment to an acoustic beam forming processor; determining, at the acoustic beamforming processor, a location of each of the plurality of acoustic sources in the environment; transmitting, from the acoustic beamforming processor, the location of each of the plurality of acoustic sources in the environment to one or more listener-controlled interface devices located in the environment, wherein each of the one or more listener-controlled interface devices are located distant from the acoustic beamforming processor; displaying the location of each of the plurality of acoustic sources in the environment on the one or more listener-controlled interface devices; selecting a target location of a mobile acoustic source from the locations displayed on the one or more listener-controlled interface devices; processing, at the acoustic beamforming processor, the acoustic signals from each of the plurality of acoustic sources to generate a steered beam pattern focused at the target location of the mobile acoustic source selected on each of the one or more listener-controlled interface devices; transmitting, from the acoustic beamforming processor, the steered beam pattern to one or more of the listener-controlled interface devices based upon the target location of the mobile acoustic source selected on the listener-controlled interface device; tracking, at the acoustic beamforming device, the movement of the target location of the mobile acoustic source using a an acoustic tracking algorithm; and adjusting, at the acoustic beamforming device, the steered beam pattern based upon the movement of the target location of the mobile acoustic source. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A system to provide assistive listening for a plurality of listeners in an environment comprising a plurality of acoustics sources, the system comprising:
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an acoustic beam forming processor; a microphone array configured for receiving an acoustic signal from each of a plurality of acoustic sources located in an environment and for transmitting the acoustic signal received from each of the plurality of acoustic sources located in the environment to the acoustic beam forming processor, wherein one or more of the acoustics sources are mobile acoustic sources; a listener-controlled interface device located in the environment, wherein the listener-controlled interface device is located distant from the acoustic beamforming processor; the acoustic beam forming processor configured for determining a location of each of the plurality of acoustic sources in the environment and for transmitting the location of each of the plurality of acoustic sources in the environment to the listener-controlled interface device; the listener-controlled interface device configured for displaying the location of each of the plurality of acoustic sources in the environment on the listener-controlled interface device and for selecting a target location of a mobile acoustic source from the locations displayed on the listener-controlled interface device; the acoustic beamforming processor further configured for processing the acoustic signals received from each of the plurality of acoustic sources and the target location of the mobile acoustic source selected on the listener controlled interface device to generate a steered beam pattern focused at the target location of the mobile acoustic source selected on the listener-controlled interface device, for transmitting the steered beam pattern to the listener-controlled interface devices based on the target location of the mobile acoustic source selected on the listener-controlled interface device, for tracking the movement of the target location of the mobile acoustic source using an acoustic tracking algorithm and for adjusting the steered beam pattern based upon the movement of the target location of the mobile acoustic source. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A system to provide assistive listening for a plurality of listeners in an environment comprising a plurality of acoustics sources, the system comprising:
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an acoustic beam forming processor; a microphone array configured for receiving an acoustic signal from each of a plurality of acoustic sources located in an environment and for transmitting the acoustic signal received from each of the plurality of acoustic sources located in the environment to the acoustic beam forming processor, wherein one or more of the acoustics sources are mobile acoustic sources; a plurality of listener-controlled interface devices located in the environment, wherein the plurality of listener-controlled interface devices are located distant from the acoustic beamforming processor; the acoustic beam forming processor configured for determining a location of each of the plurality of acoustic sources in the environment and for transmitting the location of each of the plurality of acoustic sources in the environment to the plurality of listener-controlled interface devices; each of the plurality of listener-controlled interface devices configured for displaying the location of each of the plurality of acoustic sources in the environment on the listener-controlled interface device and for selecting a target location of a mobile acoustic source from the locations displayed on each of the plurality of listener-controlled interface devices; the acoustic beamforming processor further configured for processing the acoustic signals received from each of the plurality of acoustic sources and each target location of the mobile acoustic source selected on each of the plurality of listener controlled interface devices to generate a steered beam pattern focused at the target location of the mobile acoustic source selected on each of the plurality of listener-controlled interface devices, for transmitting the steered beam pattern to each of the plurality of listener-controlled interface devices based on the target location of the mobile acoustic source selected on each of the plurality of listener-controlled interface devices, for tracking the movement of each target location of the mobile acoustic source using an acoustic tracking algorithm and for adjusting the steered beam pattern based upon the movement of the target location of the mobile acoustic source; and an ear-level transducer coupled to each of the plurality of listener-controlled interface devices, the ear-level transducer configured to receive the steered beam pattern from the listener-controlled interface device.
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Specification