Sound-based attentive state assessment

1 . A method of attentive state assessment, the method comprising:

at a device comprising a processor and a speaker:

determining a type of an environment of a user based on sensor data;

selecting an auditory stimulus based on selecting a sound from a plurality of sounds corresponding to the determined type of the environment, the auditory stimulus being selected to evoke a physiological response for assessing an attentive state of the user and is associated with a location in a three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system corresponding to the environment;

presenting the auditory stimulus to the user via the speaker at the location in the 3D coordinate system;

obtaining, using a sensor, first physiological data associated with a physiological response of the user to the auditory stimulus; and

assessing the attentive state of the user based on the physiological response of the user to the auditory stimulus.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the auditory stimulus comprises:

classifying one or more objects in the environment; and

selecting the auditory stimulus based on the classified one or more objects.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the auditory stimulus comprises:

determining, from an auditory stimuli database, one or more auditory stimuli that evoke a response for assessing attention of a user; and

selecting the auditory stimulus from the one or more auditory stimuli based on the environment.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the environment is a physical environment around the user.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the environment is an extended reality (XR) experience that is presented to the user.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the auditory stimulus is a discrete sound, a series of sounds, or a spatialized sound.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the first physiological data associated with a physiological response of the user to the auditory stimulus comprises monitoring for a response or lack of response occurring within a predetermined time following the presenting of the auditory stimulus.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first physiological data comprises electroencephalogram (EEG) amplitude data that is associated with the user.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first physiological data comprises pupillary movement that is associated with the user.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the attentive state is assessed using a statistical or machine learning-based classification technique.

11 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing a notification to the user based on the attentive state.

12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising identifying a portion of content associated with presenting the auditory stimulus to the user.

13 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising customizing content to be presented to the user based on the attentive state of the user.

14 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising aggregating attentive states determined for multiple users viewing content to provide feedback regarding the content.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the device is a head-mounted device (HMD) and the environment comprises an extended reality (XR) environment.

16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the auditory stimulus being selected to evoke the physiological response for assessing the attentive state of the user is based on distinguishing between an intended focused attention state and a mind wandering state.

17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the auditory stimulus is associated with a location in a three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system corresponding to the environment, and wherein the auditory stimulus is presented to a user at the location in the 3D coordinate system.

18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the auditory stimulus is associated with a virtual location in a three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system.

19 . A device comprising:

a speaker;

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium; and

one or more processors coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprises program instructions that, when executed on the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

determining a type of an environment of a user based on sensor data;

selecting an auditory stimulus based on selecting a sound from a plurality of sounds corresponding to the determined type of the environment, the auditory stimulus being selected to evoke a physiological response for assessing an attentive state of the user and is associated with a location in a three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system corresponding to the environment;

presenting the auditory stimulus to the user via the speaker at the location in the 3D coordinate system;

obtaining, using a sensor, first physiological data associated with a physiological response of the user to the auditory stimulus; and

assessing the attentive state of the user based on the physiological response of the user to the auditory stimulus.

20 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, storing program instructions executable on a device to perform operations comprising:

determining a type of an environment of a user based on sensor data;

selecting an auditory stimulus based on a selecting a sound from a plurality of sounds corresponding to the determined type of the environment, the auditory stimulus being selected to evoke a physiological response for assessing an attentive state of the user and is associated with a location in a three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system corresponding to the environment;

presenting the auditory stimulus to the user via a speaker at the location in the 3D coordinate system;

obtaining, using a sensor, first physiological data associated with a physiological response of the user to the auditory stimulus; and

assessing the attentive state of the user based on the physiological response of the user to the auditory stimulus.

21 . The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the auditory stimulus comprises:

classifying the environment into an environment type; and

selecting the auditory stimulus based on the environment type.