Robust and invariant audio pattern matching

A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions for characterizing a relationship between a first and a second audio sample, the computer executable instructions comprising instructions for:

• generating a first set of fingerprint objects for the first audio sample, each fingerprint object occurring at a respective location within the first audio sample, the respective location being determined in dependence upon the content of the first audio sample, and each fingerprint object characterising one or more features of the first audio sample at or near each respective location;
• generating a second set of fingerprint objects for the second audio sample, each fingerprint object occurring at a respective location within the second audio sample, the respective location being determined in dependence upon the content of the second audio sample, and each fingerprint object characterising one or more features of the second audio sample at or near each respective location;
• pairing fingerprint objects by matching a first fingerprint object from the first audio sample with a second fingerprint object from the second audio sample that is substantially similar to the first fingerprint object;
• generating, based on the pairing, a list of pairs of matched fingerprint objects;
• determining a relative value for each pair of matched fingerprint objects;
• generating a histogram of the relative values;
• and
• searching for a statistically significant peak in the histogram, the peak characterizing the relationship between the first and second audio samples.

A computer system for characterizing a relationship between a first and a second audio sample, the computer system comprising:

• a client for sending information for use in characterizing the relationship between the first and second audio sample;
• and
• a server that receives the information and characterizes the relationship between the first and the second audio sample, wherein the server comprises a processor that executes computer executable instructions, and wherein the computer executable instructions comprise instructions for:
• generating a first set of fingerprint objects for the first audio sample, each fingerprint object occurring at a respective location within the first audio sample, the respective location being determined in dependence upon the content of the first audio pg,20 sample, and each fingerprint object characterising one or more features of the first audio sample at or near each respective location;
• generating a second set of fingerprint objects for the second audio sample, each fingerprint object occurring at a respective location within the second audio sample, the respective location being determined in dependence upon the content of the second audio sample, and each fingerprint object characterising one or more features of the second audio sample at or near each respective location;
• pairing fingerprint objects by matching a first fingerprint object from the first audio sample with a second fingerprint object from the second audio sample that is substantially similar to the first fingerprint object;
• generating, based on the pairing, a list of pairs of matched fingerprint objects;
• determining a relative value for each pair of matched fingerprint objects;
• generating a histogram of the relative values;
• and
• searching for a statistically significant peak in the histogram, the peak characterizing the relationship between the first and second audio samples.