Enhancing audio using a mobile device

• US 9,848,263 B2
• Filed: 05/17/2016
• Issued: 12/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Caavo Inc
• Original Assignee: Caavo Inc
• Inventors: Aggarwal, Ashish Dharmpal, Satheesh, Sharath Hariharpur
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Khai N
• Application Number:
  US15/157,123
• Publication Number:
  US 20160261247A1
• Time in Patent Office: 581 Days
• Field of Search: 381 941, 381 942, 381 95, 381 96, 381 99, 381103
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/0232 Processing in the frequency domain
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/51 for comparison or discrimination
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/20 Automatic control H03G3/005 takes precedence; combined with volume compression or expansion H03G7/00
• 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: H03G 3/32 the control being dependent upon ambient noise level or sound level
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 5/005 of digital signals
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 5/165 Equalizers; Volume or gain control in limited frequency bands
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 7/002 in untuned or low-frequency amplifiers, e.g. audio amplifiers H03G7/007, H03G7/001, H03G7/008, H03G7/02, H03G7/06 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 17/04 Recursive filters
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 2017/0472 based on allpass structures
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/08 Mouthpieces; Microphones; Attachments therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2430/01 Aspects of volume control, not necessarily automatic, in sound systems
• 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 25/50 Customised settings for obtaining desired overall acoustical characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/505 using digital signal processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/00 Monitoring arrangements; Testing arrangements for hearing aids H04R25/30; detection of loudspeaker connection H04R5/04; sound-field adaptation dependent on speaker detection H04S7/308
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/001 for loudspeakers H04R29/007 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/004 for microphones H04R29/007 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/00 Circuits for transducers , loudspeakers or microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/04 : for correcting frequency response

Abstract

Embodiments disclosed herein enable detection and improvement of the quality of the audio signal using a mobile device by determining the loss in the audio signal and enhancing audio by streaming the remainder portion of audio. Embodiments disclosed herein enable an improvement in the sound quality rendered by rendering devices by emitting an test audio signal from the source device, measuring the test audio signal using microphones, detecting variation in the frequency response, loudness and timing characteristics using impulse responses and correcting for them. Embodiments disclosed herein also compensate for the noise in the acoustic space by determining the reverberation and ambient noise levels and their frequency characteristics and changing the digital filters and volumes of the source signal to compensate for the varying noise levels.

Claims

1. A method performed by a computing device, the method comprising:

communicating a test signal to a source device;

capturing by the at least one microphone of the computing device a played-back version of the test signal generated by a rendering device coupled to the source device;

determining, by a processing unit of the computing device, an impulse response of the captured played-back version of the test signal based at least on an equalizing filter configured to compensate for at least one or more determined frequency characteristics of the at least one microphone; and

determining calibration settings based at least on the impulse response to be applied by the source device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the equalizing filter.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the storing the equalizing filter comprises storing the equalizing filter in a memory internal to the computing device.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the storing the equalizing filter comprises storing the equalizing filter in a memory external to the computing device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the test signal is a logarithmic test sweep signal.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device and the source device are the same device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device is a mobile device.

8. A computer program product comprising computer executable program code recorded on a computer readable non-transitory storage medium, said computer executable program code when executed, causing a method to be performed by a computing device, the method comprising:

communicating a test signal to a source device;

capturing by the at least one microphone of the computing device a played-back version of the test signal generated by a rendering device coupled to the source device;

determining, by a processing unit of the computing device, an impulse response of the captured played-back version of the test signal based at least on an equalizing filter configured to compensate for at least one or more determined frequency characteristics of the at least one microphone; and

determining calibration settings based at least on the impulse response to be applied by the source device.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, the method further comprising storing the equalizing filter.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the at least one microphone is included in the computing device.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the computing device and the source device are the same device.

12. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the test signal is a logarithmic test sweep signal.

13. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the computing device is a mobile device.

14. A computing device, comprising:

at least one microphone; and

a processing unit configured to;

communicate a test signal to a source device;

determine an impulse response of a played-back version of the test signal based at least on an equalizing filter configured to compensate for at least one or more determined frequency characteristics of the at least one microphone, the played-back version of the test signal being captured by the at least one microphone, the played-back version of the test signal being generated by a rendering device coupled to the source device; and

determine calibration settings based at least on the impulse response to be applied by the source device.

15. The computing device of claim 14, wherein the processing unit is further configured to store the equalizing filter.

16. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the processing unit is configured to store the equalizing filter in a memory internal to the computing device.

17. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the processing unit is configured to store the equalizing filter in a memory external to the computing device.

18. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the computing device and the source device are the same device.

19. The computing device of claim 14, wherein the test signal is a logarithmic test sweep signal.

20. The computing device of claim 14, wherein the computing device is a mobile device.