Apparatus and method for enhancing sound produced by a gaming application

• US 9,364,745 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2013
• Issued: 06/14/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Steelseries Aps
• Original Assignee: Steelseries Aps
• Inventors: Wolff-Petersen, Jacob, Soelberg, Tino, Guntin, Ed
• Primary Examiner(s): Paul, Disler
• Application Number:
  US14/042,603
• Publication Number:
  US 20140094306A1
• Time in Patent Office: 988 Days
• Field of Search: 381 59- 60, 381/316, 463/35
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/00 Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions gaming systems which provide a financial reward G07F17/32
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/215 comprising means for detecting acoustic signals, e.g. using a microphone
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/54 involving acoustic signals, e.g. for simulating revolutions per minute [RPM] dependent engine sounds in a driving game or reverberation against a virtual wall
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/60 Generating or modifying game content before or while executing the game program, e.g. authoring tools specially adapted for game development or game-integrated level editor
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/63 by the player, e.g. authoring using a level editor
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/79 involving player-related data, e.g. identities, accounts, preferences or play histories
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5546 using player registration data, e.g. identification, account, preferences, game history
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6081 generating an output signal, e.g. under timing constraints, for spatialization
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/35 using translation techniques

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a computing device having a controller to modify sound produced by a gaming application according to an otological profile of a user. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A computing device, comprising:

a memory storing instructions; and

a controller coupled to the memory, wherein the controller, responsive to executing the instructions, performs operations comprising;

obtaining an otological profile of a user of the computing device;

detecting a selection of a software application, wherein the selection is initiated by an equipment of the user, wherein the otological profile is associated with the selected software application;

monitoring a gaming sound generated by the selected software application executing on a device integral with or communicatively coupled with the computing device;

adjusting the gaming sound in accordance with the otological profile; and

audibly presenting the adjusted sound by way of equipment used by the user,

wherein the adjusting comprises sampling the gaming sound to obtain a first time domain signal, translating the first time domain signal to a frequency domain signal, processing the frequency domain signal according to the otological profile, and translating the processed signal to a second time domain signal to obtain the adjusted sound, wherein the adjusted sound has a frequency shifted from that of the gaming sound.

2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the adjusting comprises detecting sound in a specific spectral segment defined in the otological profile, and modifying spectral aspects of the detected sound.

3. The computing device of claim 2, wherein the otological profile is determined from an audio test performed on the user.

4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the computing device comprises a gaming accessory, and the instructions comprise an accessory management software (AMS) application.

5. The computing device of claim 4, wherein the software application is a gaming application, and the AMS is integral with the gaming application.

6. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the software application is an interactive software application for determining the otological profile of the user.

7. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise associating an avatar with the otological profile of the user.

8. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the software application comprises a gaming application, wherein a first otological profile and a second otological profile of the user are associated with a first avatar and a second avatar respectively, the first avatar and the second avatar being selected from a list of avatars in the gaming application, and wherein the operations further comprise storing the first otological profile and the second otological profile.

9. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the obtaining of the otological profile is responsive to a selection by the user.

10. A method comprising:

identifying, by a system comprising a processor, an otological profile of a user;

detecting, by the system, a selection of a software application, wherein the selection is initiated by an equipment of the user, wherein the otological profile is associated with the selected software application;

detecting, by the system, sound generated by the selected software application in a specific spectral segment identified in the otological profile, wherein the detected sound is a gaming sound;

modifying, by the system, the gaming sound in accordance with the otological profile to obtain a modified sound; and

audibly presenting, by the system, the modified sound,

wherein the otological profile is generated from a hearing test performed by the user,

wherein the modifying comprises adjusting spectral aspects of the gaming sound, and

wherein the modified sound has a frequency shifted from that of the gaming sound.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

detecting a user selection of a gaming profile; and

associating the gaming profile with the selected software application.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the system comprises a gaming accessory, and wherein the software application is a gaming application.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising performing the hearing test.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising associating, by the system, an avatar with the otological profile of the user.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the hearing test that generates the otological profile is performed by a device other than the system.

16. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, comprising executable instructions which, responsive to being executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

detecting a selection of a software application, wherein the selection is initiated by equipment of a user;

retrieving an otological profile of the user associated with the selected software application;

detecting sound generated by the selected software application in a specific spectral segment identified in the otological profile of the user, wherein the detected sound is a gaming sound;

modifying the spectral segment in accordance with a spectral adjustment defined in the otological profile to obtain a modified sound having a frequency shifted from that of the gaming sound; and

presenting the modified spectral segment, wherein an ability of the user to hear the modified sound is enhanced relative to the gaming sound.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the software application comprises a video game.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the executable instructions are embedded in the software application.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise associating an avatar with the otological profile of the user.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise receiving a selection of the avatar from a list of avatars in the software application, and wherein the otological profile is retrieved responsive to the selection.