Real-time audio processing of ambient sound

A method for real-time audio processing of ambient sound comprising:

• providing passive noise attenuation using an ear bud such that exterior ambient sound is substantially reduced within an ear of a wearer;
• receiving ambient sound at an exterior microphone and converting the received ambient sound into analog electrical signals;
• converting the analog electrical signals into digital signals representative of the ambient sounds using an analog-to-digital converter;
• performing active noise cancellation using a digital signal processor;
• performing a transformation operation that is distinct from the active noise cancellation using the digital signal processor, on the digital signals representative of the ambient sounds using the digital signal processor and according to instructions received from a mobile device, the active noise cancellation and the transformation operation together transforming the digital signals into modified digital signals, wherein the transformation operation includes applying one or more filters, one or more effects, or both, to the digital signals representative of the ambient sounds, wherein at least one of the one or more effects includes applying a delay to a portion of the digital signals representative of the ambient sounds;
• converting the modified digital signals into modified analog electrical signals using a digital-to-analog converter;
• outputting the active noise cancellation signal to interfere with the exterior ambient sound along with the modified analog electrical signals as audio waves using a speaker;
• and
• receiving, by an interior microphone that is coupled to the digital signal processor, the audio waves, wherein in response to receiving an output signal from the interior microphone, the digital signal processor determines whether the active noise cancellation and the transformation operation performed together produce desired audio waves.

A system for real-time audio processing of ambient sound, comprising:

• a first earpiece;
• and
• a second earpiece, where each of the first earpiece and the second earpiece include:
• an ear bud that provides passive noise attenuation to the earpiece such that exterior ambient sound is substantially reduced within an ear of a wearer;
• an exterior microphone that receives ambient sound and converts the received ambient sound into analog electrical signals;
• analog-to-digital converter that converts the analog electrical signals into digital signals representative of the ambient sounds;
• a digital signal processor that performs active noise cancellation and performs a transformation operation that is distinct from the active noise cancellation on the digital signals representative of the ambient sounds according to instructions received from a mobile device, the active noise cancellation and the transformation operation together transforms the digital signals into modified digital signals, wherein the transformation operation includes applying one or more filters, one or more effects, or both, to the digital signals representative of the ambient sounds, wherein at least one of the one or more effects includes applying a delay to a portion of the digital signals representative of the ambient sounds;
• a digital-to-analog converter that converts the modified digital signals into modified analog electrical signals;
• a speaker that outputs the modified analog electrical signals as audio waves;
• and
• an interior microphone that receives the audio waves and is coupled to the digital signal processor, wherein in response to an output signal from the interior microphone, the digital signal processor determines whether the active noise cancellation and the transformation operation performed together produce desired audio waves.