# US 2013/0156201 A1 · Audio control device and audio control method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2013/0156201 A1 - Document ID: US20130156201A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/819,772 - Filed: 2012-02-23 - Published: 2013-06-20 - Earliest claimed: 2011-03-08 - Assignees: Panasonic Corporation - Inventors: Kentaro Nakai - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20130156201A1 ## CPC - H04R 5/04: Circuit arrangements, {e.g. for selective connection of amplifier inputs/outputs to loudspeakers, for loudspeaker detection, or for adaptation of settings to personal preferences or hearing impairments (combinations of amplifiers H03F3/68; stereophonic systems H04S)} - H04S 7/304: {For headphones} - 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) - H04R 2227/003: Digital PA systems using, e.g. LAN or internet - H04R 2460/07: Use of position data from wide-area or local-area positioning systems in hearing devices, e.g. program or information selection - H04R 2499/11: Transducers incorporated or for use in hand-held devices, e.g. mobile phones, PDA's, camera's - H04S 2400/11: Positioning of individual sound objects, e.g. moving airplane, within a sound field (H04S2420/13 takes precedence) - 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) - H04S: STEREOPHONIC SYSTEMS ## Abstract An audio control device capable of confirming without the use of sight which sound source stereoscopically located in a virtual space has been selected. This audio control device performs processing related to a sound source stereoscopically located in a virtual space, wherein the device has: a pointer position calculation unit (664) for determining the current position of a pointer, the position being selected in virtual space; and an acoustic pointer generation unit (667) for generating an acoustic pointer that shows the current position of the pointer by differences in the acoustic state with the surroundings. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An audio control apparatus that performs a process with respect to sound sources disposed three-dimensionally in a virtual space, the audio control apparatus comprising: a pointer position computation section that determines a current position of a pointer, the current position being a selected position in the virtual space; and an acoustic pointer generation section that generates an acoustic pointer, the acoustic pointer indicating the current position of the pointer by means of a difference in acoustic state relative to its surroundings. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The audio control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acoustic pointer comprises a predetermined sound outputted from the current position of the pointer. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The audio control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acoustic pointer comprises a difference between audio of the sound source, which corresponds to the current position of the pointer, and other audio. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The audio control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the difference in audio comprises the audio of the sound source being clearer than the other audio. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The audio control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a sound source arrangement computation section that disposes the sound sources three-dimensionally in the virtual space; an audio synthesis section that generates audio, the audio being obtained by synthesizing audio of the sound source with the acoustic pointer; a manipulation input section that accepts a determination manipulation with respect to the current position of the pointer; and a manipulation command control section that performs the process specifying the sound source when the sound source is located at a position targeted by the determination manipulation. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The audio control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the manipulation input section further accepts a movement manipulation with respect to the pointer. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The audio control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the virtual space comprises a space whose orientation is fixed to an actual space, wherein an initial state of the orientation of the head of a user listening to the audio of the sound source in the actual space is taken to be a reference. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The audio control apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the manipulation input section obtains, as a direction of the current position of the pointer, a direction currently squarely forward of the head of the user in the virtual space. ### Claim 9 (depends on 5) The audio control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the current position comprises a current position and an immediately preceding position of the pointer. ### Claim 10 (depends on 5) The audio control apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising: an audio input section that receives speech by the user; and a communications interface section that sends audio data of the received speech to another apparatus, and that receives audio data sent from the other apparatus, wherein the sound source arrangement computation section allocates the sound sources to respective senders of the received audio data, and the audio synthesis section converts the received audio data into audio data from corresponding sound sources. ### Claim 11 (depends on 5) The audio control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the manipulation input section accepts a provisional determination manipulation with respect to the current position of the pointer, and the acoustic pointer comprises feedback with respect to the provisional determination manipulation. ### Claim 12 An audio control method that performs a process with respect to sound sources disposed three-dimensionally in a virtual space, the audio control method comprising: determining a current position of a pointer, the current position being a selected position in the virtual space; and generating an acoustic pointer, the acoustic pointer indicating the current position of the pointer by means of a difference in acoustic state relative to its surroundings.