# US 10,455,348 B2 · Automatic correction of room acoustics based on occupancy > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,455,348 B2 - Document ID: US10455348B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/220,054 - Filed: 2018-12-14 - Published: 2019-06-20 - Granted: 2019-10-22 - Earliest claimed: 2017-12-15 - Assignees: DTS, Inc. - Applicants: DTS, Inc. - Inventors: Fred Maher; Theo Mack - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10455348B2 ## CPC - H04S 7/303: {Tracking of listener position or orientation} - G01J 5/0025: {Living bodies (ear thermometers G01J5/0011; detecting, measuring or recording for diagnostic purposes A61B5/00)} - G06V 20/53: {Recognition of crowd images, e.g. recognition of crowd congestion} - H04R 27/00: Public address systems (circuits for preventing acoustic reaction H04R3/02; circuits for distributing signals to loudspeakers H04R3/12; {monitoring or testing arrangements for public address systems H04R29/007}; amplifiers H03F) - H04S 3/008: {in which the audio signals are in digital form, i.e. employing more than two discrete digital channels (data reduction aspects thereof based on psychoacoustics G10L19/02)} - H04S 7/301: {Automatic calibration of stereophonic sound system, e.g. with test microphone} - H04S 7/305: {Electronic adaptation of stereophonic audio signals to reverberation of the listening space (H04S7/301 takes precedence)} - G01J 2005/0077: {Imaging} - H04R 2227/003: Digital PA systems using, e.g. LAN or internet - H04S: STEREOPHONIC SYSTEMS - G01J: MEASUREMENT OF INTENSITY, VELOCITY, SPECTRAL CONTENT, POLARISATION, PHASE OR PULSE CHARACTERISTICS OF INFRARED, VISIBLE OR ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT; COLORIMETRY; RADIATION PYROMETRY (light sources F21, H01J, H01K, H05B; investigating properties of materials by optical means G01N) - G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING - H04R: LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; ELECTRIC HEARING AIDS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS (producing sounds with frequency not determined by supply frequency G10K) ## Abstract An audio control system can automatically determine an occupancy of an audience seating area, and can automatically adjust a spectral content of an audio signal to at least partially compensate for spectral effects caused by the occupancy in the audience seating area. Such an audio control system can ensure that the sound in a particular room remains constant, or nearly constant, from performance to performance. The occupancy can include a number of people in attendance in the audience seating area, and/or locations of attendees in the audience seating area. The audio control system can automatically adjust the spectral content a single time, at the start of a performance, or can optionally automatically dynamically update the adjustment throughout the performance based on subsequent measurements of the occupancy. The system can determine the occupancy through ticket sales, and/or analysis of imaging of the seats in the audience seating area. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An audio control system, comprising: a controller configured to produce an audio signal that, when received by a speaker, causes the speaker to produce sound and direct the produced sound to an audience seating area; and a processor coupled to the controller, the processor configured to execute computing instructions to perform data processing activities, the data processing activities comprising: automatically determining an occupancy of the audience seating area by: with the processor, accessing a box office server; retrieving, from the box office server, data corresponding to a number of tickets sold for the show, the number of tickets sold for the show corresponding to a number of people seated in the audience seating area; and automatically updating the number of people seated in the audience seating area by automatically counting people that enter and exit the audience seating area over the duration of a show; and based on the determined occupancy, automatically adjusting a spectral content of the audio signal to at least partially compensate for spectral effects caused by the occupancy in the audience seating area. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The audio control system of claim 1, wherein the data processing activities include: adjusting the spectral content at a specified time. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The audio control system of claim 1, wherein the data processing activities include: adjusting the spectral content recurrently throughout a performance in response to the determined occupancy to at least partially compensate for the spectral effects caused by the determined occupancy in the audience seating area. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The audio control system of claim 1, wherein the data processing activities include determining the occupancy of the audience seating area according to a number of people seated in the audience seating area. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The audio control system of claim 1, wherein the data processing activities include determining the occupancy of the audience seating area according to locations of occupied seats in the audience seating area. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The audio control system of claim 1, wherein the data processing activities include determining the occupancy of the audience seating area according to a number of people seated in the audience seating area and locations of seats in the audience seating area in which the number of people are seated. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The audio control system of claim 1, further comprising at least one seating area camera configured to capture at least one video image of the audience seating area; wherein the data processing activities further comprise performing facial recognition on the at least one captured video image to determine the occupancy of the audience seating area. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The audio control system of claim 7, wherein the facial recognition is performed repeatedly over a duration of a performance, and the spectral content of the audio signal is adjusted repeatedly over the duration of the performance. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The audio control system of claim 1, further comprising at least one thermal imager configured to determine whether, for each seat of the audience seating area, a person is seated in the seat; wherein the data processing activities further comprise automatically determining, from the at least one thermal imager, the occupancy of the audience seating area. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The audio control system of claim 9, wherein the thermal imager is configured to perform the determining repeatedly over the duration of a performance, and the spectral content of the audio signal is adjusted repeatedly over the duration of the performance. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The audio control system of claim 1, further comprising at least one entrance/exit area camera configured to capture at least one video image of at least one entrance/exit area of the audience seating area; wherein the data processing activities further comprise: automatically counting, from the at least one video image, people that enter or exit the audience seating area through the entrance/exit area; and automatically updating the number of people seated in the audience seating area with the counted people. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The audio control system of claim 1, wherein automatically determining the occupancy of the audience seating area comprises: retrieving, from the box office server, data corresponding to locations of seats in the audience seating area for which tickets for the show have been sold. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The audio control system of claim 1, further comprising a speaker configured to receive the audio signal, produce sound corresponding to the audio signal, and direct the produced sound to the audience seating area. ### Claim 14 An audio control system, comprising: a controller configured to produce a plurality of audio signals; a plurality of speakers configured to receive respective audio signals of the plurality of audio signals, produce sound corresponding to the audio signals, and direct the produced sound to an audience seating area; and a processor coupled to the controller, the processor configured to execute computing instructions to perform data processing activities, the data processing activities comprising: automatically determining an occupancy of the audience seating area, the occupancy including locations of occupied seats in the audience seating area by: with the processor, accessing a box office server; retrieving, from the box office server, data corresponding to a number of tickets sold for the show, the number of tickets sold for the show corresponding to a number of people seated in the audience seating area; and automatically updating the number of people seated in the audience seating area by automatically counting people that enter and exit the audience seating area over the duration of a show; and based on the determined occupancy, automatically adjusting spectral content of the audio signals to at least partially compensate for spectral effects caused by the occupancy in the audience seating area. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The audio control system of claim 14, wherein the data processing activities include adjusting the spectral content differently for at least two of the plurality of speakers, based on locations of the speakers with respect to the audience seating area, and based on the determined occupancy of the audience seating area. ### Claim 16 A method for controlling an audio control system, the method comprising: producing, with a controller, a plurality of audio signals; producing, with a plurality of speakers configured to receive respective audio signals of the plurality of audio signals, sound corresponding to the audio signals; directing the produced sound to an audience seating area; and with a processor coupled to the controller, repeatedly, over a duration of a performance: determining an occupancy of the audience seating area, the occupancy including locations of occupied seats in the audience seating area, by: with the processor, accessing a box office server; retrieving, from the box office server, data corresponding to a number of tickets sold for the show, the number of tickets sold for the show corresponding to a number of people seated in the audience seating area; and automatically updating the number of people seated in the audience seating area by automatically counting people that enter and exit the audience seating area over the duration of a show; and based on the determined occupancy, automatically adjusting spectral content of the audio signals to at least partially compensate for spectral effects caused by the occupancy in the audience seating area. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, wherein the spectral content is adjusted differently for at least two of the plurality of speakers, based on locations of the speakers with respect to the audience seating area, and based on the determined occupancy of the audience seating area.