Multi-directional hearing aid adjustment using image capture
AssigneeSony Group Corporation
InventorsBrant L. Candelore, James R. Milne, Justin Kenefick, William Clay
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A hearing aid focusing system is provided to enables a user to hear an environmental sound. The focusing system adaptively adjusts a hearing aid in response to visual information about a user environment from one or more image capture devices. The focusing system analyzes images captured of the environment to identify one or more sources of sound that warrants user attention. Once a sound source is pinpointed and determined to be significant for the user, microphones of the hearing aid are automatically adjusted as needed in vertical and/or horizontal directions toward the sound source.
Claims17
A method for adjusting a hearing aid of a user, the method comprising:
- providing a hearing aid that includes at least a first microphone in a position that is vertically offset and horizontal offset from a second microphone of the hearing aid;
- receiving one or more images of an environment of the user, captured by one or more image capture devices commutatively coupled to the hearing aid;
- analyzing the one or more images to determine one or more visual indicators of the environment from the at least one of the one or more images and to identify the environment;
- accessing stored sound source information including a known sound source location corresponding to the identified environment;
- determining an overlay of a grid on at least one of the one or more images including multiple grid cells;
- identifying the at least one target sound source in the environment and the known sound source location based, at least in part, on the stored sound source information;
- determining grid location information for the at least one target sound source based, at least in part, on a position of the at least one target sound source in one or more of the multiple grid cells of the at least one of the one or more images;
- and
- using the grid location information, adjusting focus of sound received by at least one of the first microphone and the second microphone in at least one of a vertical direction and a horizontal direction toward the at least one target sound source.
An apparatus of a hearing aid focusing system, the apparatus comprising:
- a hearing aid of a user comprising:
- at least a first microphone in a position that is vertically offset and horizontal offset from a second microphone of the hearing aid;
- one or more processors;
- and
- logic encoded in one or more non-transitory media for execution by the one or more processors and when executed operable to perform operations comprising:
- receiving one or more images of an environment of the user, captured by one or more image capture devices commutatively coupled to the hearing aid;
- analyzing the one or more images to determine one or more visual indicators of the environment from the at least one of the one or more images and to identify the environment;
- accessing stored sound source information including a known sound source location corresponding to the identified environment;
- determining an overlay of a grid on at least one of the one or more images including multiple grid cells;
- identifying the at least one target sound source in the environment and the known sound source location based, at least in part, on the stored sound source information;
- determining grid location information for the at least one target sound source based, at least in part, on a position of the at least one target sound source in one or more of the multiple grid cells of the at least one of the one or more images;
- and
- using the grid location information, adjusting focus of sound received by at least one of the first microphone and the second microphone in at least one of a vertical direction and a horizontal direction toward the target sound source.
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium carrying program instructions thereon for adjusting a hearing aid worn by a user, the instructions when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
- receiving, by a first microphone of the hearing aid in a position that is vertically offset and horizontal offset from a second microphone of a hearing aid, sound signals from at least one target sound source in an environment of a user;
- receiving one or more images of an environment of the user, captured by one or more image capture devices commutatively coupled to the hearing aid;
- analyzing the one or more images to determine one or more visual indicators of the environment from the at least one of the one or more images and to identify the environment;
- accessing stored sound source information including a known sound source location corresponding to the identified environment;
- determining an overlay of a grid on at least one of the one or more images including multiple grid cells;
- identifying the at least one target sound source in the environment and the known sound source location based, at least in part, on the stored sound source information;
- and
- using the grid location information, adjusting focus of sound received by at least one of the first microphone and the second microphone in at least one of a vertical direction and a horizontal direction toward the at least one target sound source.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.