AUDIO-SHARING NETWORK

• US 20120189140A1
• Filed: 01/21/2011
• Published: 07/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Hughes, Gregory F.
• Application Number:
  US13/011,465
• Publication Number:
  US 20120189140A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/123
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42202 environmental sensors, e.g. for detecting temperature, luminosity, pressure, earthquakes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42203 sound input device, e.g. microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/632 using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8106 involving special audio data, e.g. different tracks for different languages

Abstract

Systems, methods, and devices for sharing ambient audio via an audio-sharing network are provided. By way of example, a system that receives shared audio from such an audio-sharing network may include a personal electronic device. The personal electronic device may join an audio-sharing network of other electronic devices and receive several audio streams from the audio-sharing network. Based at least partly on these audio streams, the personal electronic device may determine a digital user-personalized audio stream, outputting the digital user-personalized audio stream to a personal listening device. By way of example, the personal electronic device may represent a personal computer, a portable media player, or a portable phone. The personal listening device may represent a speaker of the personal electronic device, a wireless hearing aid, a wireless cochlear implant, a wired hearing aid, a wireless headset, or a wired headset, to name only a few examples.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a microphone configured to obtain ambient audio and produce a digital ambient audio signal representative of the ambient audio, wherein at least some of the ambient audio is also detectable by a microphone of another electronic device that is a member of an audio-sharing network;

a network interface configured to connect to the audio-sharing network via a local wireless network and to provide the digital ambient audio signal to the audio-sharing network; and

data processing circuitry configured to control when the microphone obtains the ambient audio and when the network interface provides the digital ambient audio signal to the audio-sharing network.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the network interface is configured to receive audio control instructions from a moderating electronic device of the audio-sharing network, wherein the data processing circuitry is configured to control when the microphone obtains the ambient audio or when the network interface provides the digital ambient audio signal to the audio-sharing network, or both, based at least in part on the audio control instructions.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the network interface is configured to receive audio control information from one or more other electronic devices that are members of the audio-sharing network, wherein the audio control information indicates whether the one or more other electronic devices that are members of the audio-sharing network find the ambient audio from the electronic device to be of interest, wherein the data processing circuitry is configured to control when the microphone obtains the ambient audio or when the network interface provides the digital ambient audio signal to the audio-sharing network, or both, based at least in part on the audio control information.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, comprising orientation-sensing circuitry configured to indicate an orientation of the electronic device, wherein the data processing circuitry is configured to control when the microphone obtains the ambient audio or when the network interface provides the digital ambient audio signal to the audio-sharing network, or both, based at least in part on the orientation of the electronic device.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, comprising orientation-sensing circuitry configured to indicate an orientation of the electronic device, wherein the data processing circuitry is configured to control when the microphone obtains the ambient audio or when the network interface provides the digital ambient audio signal to the audio-sharing network, or both, based at least in part on whether the orientation of the electronic device is changing or has changed recently within a given amount of time.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, comprising an ambient light sensor configured to detect ambient light, wherein the data processing circuitry is configured to control when the microphone obtains the ambient audio or when the network interface provides the digital ambient audio signal to the audio-sharing network, or both, based at least in part on an amount of detected ambient light.

7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the data processing circuitry is configured to analyze the ambient audio, determine whether the ambient audio is of interest to the audio-sharing network, and cause the network interface to provide the digital ambient audio signal to the audio-sharing network when the data processing circuitry determines the ambient audio is of interest to the audio-sharing network.

8. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the data processing circuitry is configured to determine whether the ambient audio is of interest to the audio-sharing network based at least in part on a volume level of the ambient audio, a frequency of the ambient audio, a voice discernable in the ambient audio, a word discernable in the ambient audio, or a name discernable in the ambient audio, or any combination thereof.

9. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the data processing circuitry is configured to cause the microphone only to obtain the ambient audio periodically unless the data processing circuitry determines the ambient audio is of interest to the audio-sharing network.

10. A system comprising:

a personal electronic device configured to join an audio-sharing network, to receive a plurality of digital audio streams from the audio-sharing network, to determine a digital user-personalized audio stream based at least in part on at least a subset of the plurality of digital audio streams, and to output the digital user-personalized audio stream.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the personal electronic device comprises a personal desktop computer, a personal notebook computer, a personal tablet computer, a personal handheld device, a portable media player, a portable phone, or a teleconferencing device, or a combination thereof.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the personal electronic device is configured to determine the digital user-personalized audio stream by including in the digital user-personalized audio stream any of the plurality of digital audio streams that exceed a threshold volume level or excluding in the digital user-personalized audio stream any of the plurality of digital audio streams that do not exceed the threshold volume level, or doing both.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the personal electronic device is configured to determine the digital user-personalized audio stream by emphasizing one or more of the plurality of digital audio streams that exceed a threshold volume level or deemphasizing one or more of the plurality of digital audio streams that do not exceed the threshold volume level, or doing both.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the personal electronic device is configured to determine the digital user-personalized audio stream based at least in part on settings selected by a moderating electronic device of the audio-sharing network.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the personal electronic device is configured to determine the digital user-personalized audio stream by prioritizing one of the plurality of digital audio streams over another based at least in part on locations of member devices of the audio-sharing network that supplied the one of the plurality of digital audio streams or the other.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the personal electronic device is configured to determine whether one of the plurality of digital audio streams includes or is likely to include audio belonging to a speaker in a conversation that is detectable to the audio-sharing network and to determine the digital user-personalized audio stream by emphasizing the one of the plurality of digital audio streams when the one of the plurality of digital audio streams is determined to include audio belonging to the speaker.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the personal electronic device is configured to determine the digital user-personalized audio stream by emphasizing audio streams of the plurality of digital audio streams that derive from user-preferred member devices of the audio-sharing network.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the personal electronic device is configured to determine the digital user-personalized audio stream by emphasizing audio streams of the plurality of digital audio streams that contain specified content.

19. The system of claim 10, comprising a personal listening device associated with the personal electronic device, wherein the personal listening device is configured to receive the digital user-personalized audio stream and to play out an analog representation of the digital user-personalized audio stream.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the personal listening device comprises a wireless hearing aid, a wired hearing aid, a speaker of the electronic device, an external speaker, a cochlear implant, a wireless headset, or a wired headset, or a combination thereof.

21. An electronic device comprising:

a microphone configured to obtain ambient audio and produce a digital ambient audio signal representative of the ambient audio;

data processing circuitry configured to determine location identifying data that indicates whether the electronic device is expected to be within range of detecting sounds also detectable by one or more other electronic devices that share audio obtained by the one or more of the other electronic devices; and

a network interface configured to connect to the one or more of the other electronic devices, provide the location identifying data, and share the digital ambient audio signal with the other electronic devices when the location identifying data indicates that the electronic device is expected to be within range of detecting the sounds also detectable by the one or more other electronic devices.

22. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein the location identifying data comprises a sample of the digital ambient audio signal associated with an indication of a time that the ambient audio was obtained by the microphone, wherein the location identifying data indicates that the electronic device is located within range of detecting sounds also detectable by one or more of a plurality of other electronic devices when the ambient audio comprises the sounds also detectable by the one or more of the plurality of other electronic devices.

23. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein the network interface is configured to receive the digital audio obtained by the one or more of the other electronic devices, wherein the data processing circuitry is configured to compare the digital audio obtained by the one or more other electronic devices and the digital ambient audio signal and to cause the network interface to share the digital ambient audio signal with the other electronic devices when the digital ambient audio signal and the digital audio obtained by the one or more other electronic devices both include the sounds also detectable by the one or more other electronic devices.

24. The electronic device of claim 21, comprising location-sensing circuitry configured to detect a geophysical location of the electronic device, wherein the location identifying data comprises the geophysical location of the electronic device and wherein the geophysical location of the electronic device is within a specified boundary.

25. The electronic device of claim 21, comprising location-sensing circuitry configured to detect a geophysical location of the electronic device, wherein the location identifying data comprises the geophysical location of the electronic device and wherein the geophysical location of the electronic device is within a threshold distance from at least one of the other electronic devices.

26. The electronic device of claim 21, comprising image capture circuitry configured to obtain an image, wherein the location identifying data comprises the image and wherein the image represents a scene that is detectable by at least one of the other electronic devices.

27. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein the network interface comprises a near field communication interface configured to connect to the one or more of the other electronic devices via near field communication, wherein the location identifying data comprises an indication that the electronic device is located within range to communicate via near field communication.

28. An article of manufacture comprising:

one or more tangible, machine-readable storage media having instructions encoded thereon for execution by a processor of an electronic device, the instructions comprising;

instructions to receive communication from another electronic device via a network interface of the electronic device, wherein the communication comprises a request to join an audio-sharing network of which the electronic device is a member;

instructions to cause a microphone of the electronic device to obtain a first digital sample of ambient audio;

instructions to receive a second digital sample of ambient audio from the other electronic device via the network interface of the electronic device, wherein the second digital sample of ambient audio comprises ambient audio detected by another microphone associated with the other electronic device;

instructions to compare the first digital sample of ambient audio to the second digital sample of ambient audio; and

instructions to permit the other electronic device to join the audio-sharing network when sounds from the first digital sample of ambient audio substantially match sounds from the second digital sample of ambient audio.

29. A method comprising:

receiving a plurality of digital audio streams into an electronic device from an audio-sharing network of personal electronic devices, wherein each of the plurality of digital audio streams includes sound deriving from a common audio source and wherein each of the personal electronic devices has a different distance from the common audio source; and

processing the plurality of digital audio streams into audio that compensates for spatial differences between the personal electronic devices and the common audio source.