Back to results
US 11,122,384 B2Granted
Devices and methods for binaural spatial processing and projection of audio signals
AssigneeThe Regents of the University of California
InventorShahrokh Yadegari
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed are devices, systems and methods for binaural spatial audio processing based on a pair of head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) for each of a listener's two ears to synthesize a binaural sound that seems to come from a particular point in space. Applications of the disclosed devices, systems and methods include digital audio reproduction, recording, and multimedia applications including virtual reality and augmented reality experiences.
Claims28
A method for binaural audio signal processing, comprising:
- obtaining a first head-related transfer function (HRTF) for a left ear of a listener based on a sound source located at a first distance from the listener's left ear, wherein the first HRTF is such that delay information is removed from the first HRTF and a volume of the first HRTF is adjusted for attenuation associated with the removed delay information;
- obtaining a second HRTF for a right ear of the listener based on the sound source located at a second distance from the listener's right ear, wherein the second HRTF is such that delay information is removed from the second HRTF and a volume of the second HRTF is adjusted for attenuation associated with the removed delay information;
- calculating at least one of:
- one or more delay parameters or one or more attenuation parameters associated with the left ear and the right ear;
- modifying the first HRTF based on the calculated parameters associated with the left ear;
- modifying the second HRTF based on the calculated parameters associated with the right ear;
- and
- synthesizing a binaural sound for a first speaker corresponding to the left ear of the listener and a second speaker corresponding to the right ear of the listener, wherein the synthesized binaural sound contains spatial auditory information, based on the modified first HRTF and the modified second HRTF for the left ear and the right ear, respectively.
5 more elements
A binaural audio device, comprising:
- a first speaker configured to project a first synthesized audio output to a first ear of a listener;
- a second speaker configured to project a second synthesized audio output to a second ear of the listener;
- a data processing unit in communication with the first speaker and the second speaker configured to produce distinct audio outputs for the first speaker and the second speaker;
- and
- a binaural audio processing module configured to obtain a first head-related transfer function (HRTF) for the first ear of the listener and a second HRTF for the second ear of the listener based on a sound source located at a first distance from the listener's first ear and a second distance from the listener's second ear,
- wherein the first HRTF is such that delay information is removed from the first HRTF and a volume of the first HRTF is adjusted for attenuation associated with the removed delay information, and wherein the second HRTF is such that delay information is removed from the second HRTF and a volume of the second HRTF is adjusted for attenuation associated with the removed delay information,
- wherein the binaural audio processing module is further configured to calculate at least one of:
- one or more delay parameters or one or more attenuation parameters associated with the first ear and the second ear, modify the first HRTF based on the calculated parameters associated with the first ear, modify the second HRTF based on the calculated parameters associated with the second ear, and
- wherein the binaural audio processing module is further configured to synthesize a binaural sound for the first speaker and the second speaker based on the modified first HRTF and the modified second HRTF, respectively, wherein the synthesized binaural sound contains spatial auditory information.
6 more elements
A method for binaural audio signal processing, comprising:
- interpolating a first head-related transfer function (HRTF) for a left ear of a listener and interpolating a second head-related transfer function for a right ear of the listener, wherein the first HRTF is such that delay information is removed from the first HRTF and a volume of the first HRTF is adjusted for attenuation associated with the removed delay information, and wherein the second HRTF is such that delay information is removed from the second HRTF and a volume of the second HRTF is adjusted for attenuation associated with the removed delay information;
- calculating distances between a source of a sound to be synthesized and each of the left ear and right ear of the listener;
- calculating at least one of one or more delay parameters, one or more attenuation parameters, or one or more angles associated with the left ear and the right ear using the calculated distances;
- modifying the first interpolated HRTF based on the calculated parameters associated with the left ear;
- modifying the second interpolated HRTF based on the calculated parameters associated with the right ear;
- interpolating values per block of a space covering at least the listener and the source of the sound;
- applying a convolution including the interpolated values per block and the modified interpolated HRTF for each ear;
- and
- synthesizing a binaural sound for a first speaker corresponding to the left ear of the listener and a second speaker corresponding to the right ear of the listener, wherein the synthesized binaural sound contains spatial auditory information.
6 more elements
A method for producing intermediary head-related transfer functions (HRTFs), comprising:
- determining parameters associated with a sound to be synthesized, wherein the parameters include spatial parameters of the sound with respect to a listener;
- selecting one or more premade HRTFs from a database having a plurality of the premade HRTFs based on the determined spatial parameters;
- decoupling left ear and right ear impulses of the selected one or more premade HRTFs;
- removing delay information from the selected one or more premade HRTFs;
- and
- adjusting volume information of the selected one or more premade HRTFs for attenuation associated with the removed delay information,
- wherein the decoupling, removing, and adjusting produces a modified HRTF set.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.