# US 12,010,502 B2 · Apparatus and method for audio rendering employing a geometric distance definition

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- Number: US 12,010,502 B2
- Document ID: US12010502B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/175,432
- Filed: 2023-02-27
- Published: 2023-11-16
- Granted: 2024-06-11
- Earliest claimed: 2014-03-26
- Assignees: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
- Applicants: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
- Inventors: Simone Neukam; Jan Plogsties; Max Neuendorf; Juergen Herre; Bernhard Grill
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12010502B2

## CPC

- H04S 7/30: {Control circuits for electronic adaptation of the sound field}
- G10L 19/008: Multichannel audio signal coding or decoding using interchannel correlation to reduce redundancy, e.g. joint-stereo, intensity-coding or matrixing
- G10L 19/08: Determination or coding of the excitation function; Determination or coding of the long-term prediction parameters
- G10L 19/20: using sound class specific coding, hybrid encoders or object based coding
- 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 1/007: {in which the audio signals are in digital form (data reduction aspects thereof based on psychoacoustics G10L19/02)}
- H04S 2400/01: Multi-channel, i.e. more than two input channels, sound reproduction with two speakers wherein the multi-channel information is substantially preserved
- H04S 2400/03: Aspects of down-mixing multi-channel audio to configurations with lower numbers of playback channels, e.g. 7.1 -> 5.1 (H04S2400/01 takes precedence)
- H04S 2400/11: Positioning of individual sound objects, e.g. moving airplane, within a sound field (H04S2420/13 takes precedence)
- H04S 2420/03: Application of parametric coding in stereophonic audio systems
- H04S: STEREOPHONIC SYSTEMS
- G10L: SPEECH ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES OR SPEECH SYNTHESIS; SPEECH RECOGNITION; SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES; SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING

## Abstract

An apparatus for playing back an audio object associated with a position includes a distance calculator for calculating distances of the position to speakers or for reading the distances of the position to the speakers. The distance calculator is configured to take a solution with a smallest distance. The apparatus is configured to play back the audio object using the speaker corresponding to the solution.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An apparatus for playing back an audio object associated with a position, comprising:
a distance calculator for determining a solution with a smallest distance of distances of the position to speakers,
wherein the apparatus is configured to play back the audio object using the speaker corresponding to the solution,
wherein the apparatus is configured to calculate the distances depending on a function which depends on one or more angular differences between the position of the audio object and a speaker position.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the distance calculator is configured to calculate the distances of the position to the speakers or to read the distances of the position to the speakers only if a closest speaker playout flag, being received by the apparatus, is enabled,
wherein the distance calculator is configured to take a solution with a smallest distance only if the closest speaker playout flag is enabled, and
wherein the apparatus is configured to play back the audio object using the speaker corresponding to the solution only of the closest speaker playout flag is enabled.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the apparatus is configured to not conduct any rendering on the audio object, if the closest speaker playout flag is enabled.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distance calculator is configured to calculate the distances depending on a distance function which returns a weighted Euclidian distance or a great-arc distance.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distance calculator is configured to calculate the distances depending on a distance function which returns weighted absolute differences in azimuth and elevation angles.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distance calculator is configured to calculate the distances depending on a distance function which returns weighted absolute differences to the power p, wherein p is a number.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distance calculator is configured to calculate the distances depending on a distance function which returns a weighted angular difference.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the distance function is defined according to
diffAngle=a cos(cos(azDiff)*cos(elDiff)),
wherein azDiff indicates a difference of two azimuth angles,
wherein elDiff indicates a difference of two elevation angles, and
wherein diffAngle indicates the weighted angular difference.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distance calculator is configured to calculate the distances of the position to the speakers, so that each distance Δ(P1,P2)=|β1−β2|+||α1−α2|+|r1−r2| of the position to one of the speakers is calculated according to
Δ(P1,P2)=|β1−β2|+α1−α2|
wherein α1 indicates an azimuth angle of the position, α2 indicates an azimuth angle of said one of the speakers, β1 indicates an elevation angle of the position, and β2 indicates an elevation angle of said one of the speakers, or
wherein α1 indicates an azimuth angle of said one of the speakers, α2 indicates an azimuth angle of the position, β1 indicates an elevation angle of said one of the speakers, and β2 indicates an elevation angle of the position.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the distance calculator is configured to calculate the distances of the position to the speakers, so that each distance Δ(P1, P2)=|β1−δβ2|+|α1−α2|+|r1−r2| of the position to one of the speakers is calculated according to
Δ(P1,P2)=|β1−β2|+|α1−α2|+r1−r2|
wherein α1 indicates an azimuth angle of the position, α2 indicates an azimuth angle of said one of the speakers, β1 indicates an elevation angle of the position, β2 indicates an elevation angle of said one of the speakers, r1 indicates a radius of the position and r2 indicates a radius of said one of the speakers, or
wherein α1 indicates an azimuth angle of said one of the speakers, α2 indicates an azimuth angle of the position, β1 indicates an elevation angle of said one of the speakers, β2 indicates an elevation angle of the position, r1 indicates a radius of said one of the speakers and r2 indicates a radius of the position.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the distance calculator is configured to calculate the distances of the position to the speakers, so that each distance Δ(P1, P2)=|β1−β2|+|α1−α2|+|r1−r2| of the position to one of the speakers is calculated according to
Δ(P1,P2)=b·|β1−β2|+α·|α1−α2|
wherein α1 indicates an azimuth angle of the position, α2 indicates an azimuth angle of said one of the speakers, β1 indicates an elevation angle of the position, β2 indicates an elevation angle of said one of the speakers, a is a first number, and b is a second number, or
wherein α1 indicates an azimuth angle of said one of the speakers, α2 indicates an azimuth angle of the position, β1 indicates an elevation angle of said one of the speakers, β2 indicates an elevation angle of the position, a is a first number, and b is a second number.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the distance calculator is configured to calculate the distances of the position to the speakers, so that each distance Δ(P1, P2)=|β1−β2|+|α1−α2|+|r1−r2| of the position to one of the speakers is calculated according to
Δ(P1,P2)=b·|β1β2|+α·α1−α2|+c·|r1−r2|
wherein α1 indicates an azimuth angle of the position, α2 indicates an azimuth angle of said one of the speakers, β1 indicates an elevation angle of the position, β2 indicates an elevation angle of said one of the speakers, r1 indicates a radius of the position, r2 indicates a radius of said one of the speakers, a is a first number, b is a second number, and c is a third number, or
wherein α1 indicates an azimuth angle of said one of the speakers, α2 indicates an azimuth angle of the position, β1 indicates an elevation angle of said one of the speakers, and β2 indicates an elevation angle of the position, r1 indicates a radius of said one of the speakers, and r2 indicates a radius of the position, a is a first number, b is a second number, and c is a third number.

### Claim 13

A decoder device comprising:
a USAC decoder for decoding a bitstream to acquire one or more audio input channels, to acquire one or more input audio objects, to acquire compressed object metadata and to acquire one or more SAOC transport channels,
an SAOC decoder for decoding the one or more SAOC transport channels to acquire a group of one or more rendered audio objects,
an object metadata decoder, for decoding the compressed object metadata to acquire uncompressed metadata,
a format converter for converting the one or more audio input channels to acquire one or more converted channels, and
a mixer for mixing the one or more rendered audio objects of the group of one or more rendered audio objects, the one or more input audio objects and the one or more converted channels to acquire one or more decoded audio channels,
wherein the object metadata decoder and the mixer together form an apparatus according to one of the preceding claims,
wherein the object metadata decoder comprises the distance calculator of the apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the distance calculator is configured, for each input audio object of the one or more input audio objects, to calculate distances of the position associated with said input audio object to speakers or for reading the distances of the position associated with said input audio object to the speakers, and to take a solution with a smallest distance, and
wherein the mixer is configured to output each input audio object of the one or more input audio objects within one of the one or more decoded audio channels to the speaker corresponding to the solution determined by the distance calculator of the apparatus according to one of the preceding claims for said input audio object.

### Claim 14

A method for playing back an audio object associated with a position, comprising:
determining a solution with a smallest distance of distances of the position to speakers, and
playing back the audio object using the speaker corresponding to the solution,
wherein the method comprises calculating the distances depending on a function which depends on one or more angular differences between the position of the audio object and a speaker position.

### Claim 15

A non-transitory digital storage medium having a computer program stored thereon to perform the method for playing back an audio object associated with a position, comprising:
determining a solution with a smallest distance of distances of the position to speakers, and
playing back the audio object using the speaker corresponding to the solution,
when said computer program is run by a computer,
wherein the method comprises calculating the distances depending on a function which depends on one or more angular differences between the position of the audio object and a speaker position.