Spatial audio conferencing system

• US 7,720,212 B1
• Filed: 07/29/2004
• Issued: 05/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Iyer, Subramoniam N., Jouppi, Norman Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Kuntz; Curtis
• Assistant Examiner(s): Islam; Mohammad K
• Application Number:
  US10/909,079
• Time in Patent Office: 2,119 Days
• Field of Search: 379/202.01
• US Class Current: 379/202.01
• 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: H04S 2420/01 Enhancing the perception of the sound image or of the spatial distribution using head related transfer functions [HRTF's] or equivalents thereof, e.g. interaural time difference [ITD] or interaural level difference [ILD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/302 Electronic adaptation of stereophonic sound system to listener position or orientation H04S7/301 takes precedence

Abstract

An audio conferencing system includes sending a signal of a sound at a sound location to a listening location. The system further includes establishing a relationship between a virtual listening location and a virtual sound location. The system processes the signal to provide a sound at the listening location seeming to have an analogous relationship between the listening location and the sound location as the relationship between the virtual listening location and the virtual sound location.

Claims

1. An audio conferencing system comprising:

sending a signal of a sound at a sound location to a listening location, the sound location and the listening location being physical locations;

establishing a relationship between a virtual listening location and a virtual sound location;

processing the signal to provide a sound at the listening location seeming to have an analogous relationship between the listening location and the sound location as the relationship between the virtual listening location and the virtual sound location in that the virtual listening location is at the sound location and the virtual sound location is at the listening location; and

displaying a graphic user interface having a first icon corresponding to a location of a sound pickup system within the sound location and a second icon corresponding to a desired virtual location of a remote attendee within the sound location in relation to the location of the sound pickup system within the sound location, where the remote attendee is not physically located at the sound location but rather is physically located at the listening location such that the second icon indicates a desired location of the remote attendee if the remote attendee were physically located at the sound location.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

establishing the relationship further comprises adjusting a facing direction of the virtual listening location relative to the virtual sound location; and

processing the signal further comprises further processing the signal to provide the sound at the listening location adjusted for the facing direction.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

sending a signal of a sound at the listening location to the sound location; and

suppressing echoes by attenuating only the signal of the sound at the sound location.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

sending a signal of a sound at the listening location to the sound location; and

processing the signal of the sound at the listening location to provide the sound proximate to the sound location to communicate the perception that the sound at the listening location can move around the sound location.

5. The system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

tracking at least one of movement, orientation, and a combination thereof of the listening location; and

changing the relationship between the virtual listening location and the virtual sound location based on at least one of movement, orientation, and a combination thereof of the listening location.

6. An audio conferencing system comprising:

sending signals of directional sounds at a sound location to a listening location, the sound location and the listening locations being physical locations;

establishing a spatial relationship between a virtual listening location and a virtual sound location in that the virtual listening location is at the sound location and the virtual sound location is at the listening location;

processing the signals using interaural time delay and interaural level difference to provide binaural sounds representative of the directional sounds at the listening location seeming to have the same analogous spatial relationship between the listening location and the sound location as the spatial relationship between the virtual listening location and the virtual sound location; and

displaying a graphic user interface having a first icon corresponding to a location of a sound pickup system within the sound location and a second icon corresponding to a desired virtual location of a remote attendee within the sound location in relation to the location of the sound pickup system within the sound location, where the remote attendee is not physically located at the sound location but rather is physically located at the listening location such that the second icon indicates a desired location of the remote attendee if the remote attendee were physically located at the sound location.

7. The system as claimed in claim 6 wherein:

establishing the relationship further comprises;

forming an icon of the virtual listening location having a facing direction, and adjusting the facing direction of the virtual listening location relative to the virtual sound location; and

processing the signals further comprises further processing the signals to provide the binaural sounds at the listening location adjusted for the facing direction.

8. The system as claimed in claim 6 further comprising:

sending signals of sounds at the listening location to the sound location; and

suppressing echoes of the sounds at the listening location by attenuating only the signals of the directional sounds at the sound location in proportion to the signals of sounds at the listening location.

9. The system as claimed in claim 6 further comprising:

sending signals of sounds above an adjustable noise threshold at the listening location to the sound location; and

processing the signals of the sounds at the listening location to provide the sounds at a plurality of locations at the sound location to communicate the perception that the sound at the listening location can move around the sound location.

10. The system as claimed in claim 6 further comprising:

tracking at least one of azimuth movement, elevation movement, roll movement, orientation, and a combination thereof of the listening location; and

changing the spatial relationship and a facing relationship between the virtual listening location and the virtual sound location based on at least one of movement, orientation, and a combination thereof of the listening location.

11. An audio conferencing system comprising:

a communication system for sending a signal of a sound at a sound location to a listening location, the sound location and the listening location being physical locations;

a user interface for establishing a relationship between a virtual listening location and a virtual sound location; and

a computer system for processing the signal to provide a sound at the listening location seeming to have an analogous relationship between the listening location and the sound location as the relationship between the virtual listening location and the virtual sound location in that the virtual listening location is at the sound location and the virtual sound location is at the listening location,

wherein the user interface comprises a graphic user interface having a first icon corresponding to a location of a sound pickup system within the sound location and a second icon corresponding to a desired virtual location of a remote attendee within the sound location in relation to the location of the sound pickup system within the sound location, where the remote attendee is not physically located at the sound location but rather is physically located at the listening location such that the second icon indicates a desired location of the remote attendee if the remote attendee were physically located at the sound location.

12. The system as claimed in claim 11 wherein:

the user interface further comprises a compass interface for adjusting a facing direction of the virtual listening location relative to the virtual sound location; and

the computer system for further processing the signal to provide the sound at the listening location adjusted for the facing direction.

13. The system as claimed in claim 11 wherein the computer system further presses echoes by attenuating the signal of the sound at the sound location.

14. The system as claimed in claim 11 further comprising:

a microphone for sending a signal of a sound at the listening location to the sound location;

a speaker for converting the signals of the sound at the listening location to sound proximate to the sound location; and

the computer system for processing the signals of the sounds at the listening location to communicate the perception that the sounds at the listening location can move around to the sound location.

15. The system as claimed in claim 11 further comprising:

an orientation tracking device for tracking at least one of movement, orientation, and a combination thereof of the listening location; and

the computer system for changing the relationship between the virtual listening location and the virtual sound location based on at least one of movement, orientation, and a combination thereof of the listening location.

16. An audio conferencing system comprising:

a microphone array for sending signals of directional sounds at a sound location;

a listening unit for receiving the signals at a listening location, the microphone array being part of a sound pickup system, the sound location and the listening location being physical locations;

a graphic user interface establishing a relationship between a virtual listening location and a virtual sound location; and

a computer system for processing the signal using interaural time delay and interaural level difference to provide binaural sounds at the listening unit seeming to have an analogous relationship between the listening location and the sound location as the relationship between the virtual listening location and the virtual sound location in that the virtual listening location is at the sound location and the virtual sound location is at the listening location,

wherein the graphic user interface has a first icon corresponding to a location of the sound pickup system within the sound location and a second icon corresponding to a desired virtual location of a remote attendee within the sound location in relation to the location of the sound pickup system within the sound location, where the remote attendee is not physically located at the sound location but rather is physically located at the listening location such that the second icon indicates a desired location of the remote attendee if the remote attendee were physically located at the sound location.

17. The system as claimed in claim 16 wherein:

the graphic user interface further comprises;

an icon of the virtual listening location having a facing direction, and

a compass interface for adjusting the facing direction of the virtual listening location relative to the virtual sound location; and

the computer system for further processing the signals to provide the binaural sound at the listening location adjusted for the facing direction.

18. The system as claimed in claim 16 wherein the sound pickup subsystem is transparent except at a bottom thereof, the microphone array is disposed at a top of the sound pickup subsystem, and one or more microphone preamplifiers are disposed at the bottom of the sound pickup subsystem.

19. The system as claimed in claim 16 further comprising:

a microphone for sending sounds above an adjustable noise threshold at the listening location to the sound location;

a plurality of speakers around the microphone array; and

the computer system processing the signals of the sounds at the listening location to provide noise-canceled sounds at the plurality of speakers to communicate the perception that the sounds at the listening location can move relative to the sound location.

20. The system as claimed in claim 16 further comprising:

a orientation tracking device for tracking at least one of azimuth movement, elevation movement, roll movement, orientation, and a combination thereof of the listening location; and

the computer system for changing the spatial relationship and a facing relationship between the virtual listening location and the virtual sound location based on at least one of movement, orientation, and a combination thereof of the listening location.