Equalization based on acoustic monitoring
View Patent ↗An audio/video (A/V) hub may measure the sound, corresponding to audio content, output by electronic devices. Then, the A/V hub may compare the measured sound to a desired acoustic characteristic at a first location in the environment based on the first location, a second location of the A/V hub, and an acoustic transfer function of the environment in at least a band of frequencies. For example, the comparison may involve calculating the acoustic transfer function at the first location based on the acoustic transfer function at other locations in the environment and correcting the measured sound based on the calculated the acoustic transfer function at the first location. Moreover, the A/V hub may determine equalized audio content based on the comparison and the audio content.
1. A coordination device, comprising:
one or more acoustic transducers configured to measure sound in an environment;
one or more nodes configured to communicatively couple to one or more antennas;
an interface circuit communicatively coupled to the one or more nodes, wherein the coordination device is configured to:
measure the sound using the one or more acoustic transducers, wherein the sound corresponds to audio content;
compare the measured sound to a desired acoustic characteristic at a first location in the environment based on the first location, a second location of the coordination device, and an acoustic transfer function of the environment in at least a band of frequencies, wherein the comparison involves calculating the acoustic transfer function at the first location based on the acoustic transfer function at other locations in the environment and correcting the measured sound based on the calculated the acoustic transfer function at the first location;
determine equalized audio content based on the comparison and the audio content; and
transmit, to the one or more nodes, one or more frames that include the equalized audio content for electronic devices.
2. The coordination device of claim 1 , wherein the first location includes an estimated location of a listener relative to the electronic devices; and
wherein the coordination device is further configured to calculate the estimated location of the listener.
3. The coordination device of claim 2 , wherein the coordination device is configured to calculate the estimated location of the listener based on the sound measurements.
4. The coordination device of claim 1 , wherein the first location includes an estimated location of another electronic device relative to the electronic devices;
wherein the interface circuit is configured to:
communicate, to or from the one or more nodes, frames associated with the other electronic device; and
calculate the estimated location of the other electronic device based on the communication with the other electronic device.
5. The coordination device of claim 4 , wherein the communication, to or from the one or more nodes, includes wireless ranging; and
wherein the estimated location is calculated based on the wireless ranging and an angle of arrival of wireless signals associated with the other electronic device.
6. The coordination device of claim 1 , wherein the first location includes an estimated location of a listener relative to the electronic devices; and
wherein the interface circuit is configured to:
perform time-of-flight measurements; and
calculate the estimated location of the listener based on the time-of-flight measurements.
7. The coordination device of claim 1 , wherein the interface circuit is configured to communicate, to or from the one or more nodes, frames associated with other electronic devices in the environment and to receive, from the one or more nodes, additional sound measurements of the environment that are associated with the other electronic devices;
wherein the coordination device is configured to perform one or more additional comparisons of the additional sound measurements to the desired acoustic characteristic at the first location in the environment based on third locations of the other electronic devices and the acoustic transfer function of the environment in at least the band of frequencies; and
wherein the equalized audio content is further determined based on the one or more additional comparisons.
8. The coordination device of claim 7 , wherein the interface circuit is configured to determine the third locations based on one or more of the frames associated with the other electronic devices.
9. The coordination device of claim 8 , wherein the communication with the other electronic devices includes wireless ranging; and
wherein the third locations are calculated based on the wireless ranging and angles of arrival of wireless signals associated with the other electronic devices.
10. The coordination device of claim 7 , wherein the interface circuit is configured to receive, from the one or more nodes, information specifying the third locations; and
wherein the information is associated with the other electronic devices.
11. The coordination device of claim 10 , wherein the coordination device is configured to determine playback timing information that specifies playback times when the electronic devices playback the equalized audio content;
wherein the one or more frames further include the playback timing information; and
wherein the playback times of the electronic devices have a temporal relationship so that the playback of the audio content by the electronic devices is coordinated.
12. The coordination device of claim 1 , wherein the desired acoustic characteristic is based on a type of audio playback.
13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for use with a coordination device, the computer-readable storage medium storing a program module that, when executed by the coordination device, causes the coordination device to determine equalized audio content by carrying out one or more operations that comprise:
measuring sound in an environment using one or more acoustic transducers, wherein the sound corresponds to audio content;
comparing the measured sound to a desired acoustic characteristic at a first location in the environment based on the first location, a second location of the coordination device, and an acoustic transfer function of the environment in at least a band of frequencies, wherein the comparison involves calculating the acoustic transfer function at the first location based on the acoustic transfer function at other locations in the environment and correcting the measured sound based on the calculated the acoustic transfer function at the first location;
determining the equalized audio content based on the comparison and the audio content; and
transmitting, to one or more nodes in the coordination device that are communicatively coupled to one or more antennas, one or more frames that include the equalized audio content for electronic devices.
14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the first location includes an estimated location of a listener relative to the electronic devices; and
wherein the one or more operations comprise calculating the estimated location of the listener.
15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 , wherein the estimated location of the listener is calculated based on the sound measurements.
16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the first location includes an estimated location of another electronic device relative to the electronic devices;
wherein the one or more operations comprise:
communicating, to or from one or more nodes, frames associated with the other electronic device; and
calculating the estimated location of the other electronic device based on the communication with the other electronic device.
17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the first location includes an estimated location of a listener relative to the electronic devices;
wherein the one or more operations comprise:
performing time-of-flight measurements; and
calculating the estimated location of the listener based on the time-of-flight measurements.
18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the one or more operations comprise:
communicating, to or from the one or more nodes, frames associated with other electronic devices in the environment and receive, from the one or more nodes, additional sound measurements of the environment that are associated with the other electronic devices; and
performing one or more additional comparisons of the additional sound measurements to the desired acoustic characteristic at the first location in the environment based on third locations of the other electronic devices and the acoustic transfer function of the environment in at least the band of frequencies; and
wherein the equalized audio content is further determined based on the one or more additional comparisons.
19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the desired acoustic characteristic is based on a type of audio playback.
20. A method for determining equalized audio content, wherein the method comprises:
by a coordination device:
measuring sound in an environment using one or more acoustic transducers, wherein the sound corresponds to audio content;
comparing the measured sound to a desired acoustic characteristic at a first location in the environment based on the first location, a second location of the coordination device, and an acoustic transfer function of the environment in at least a band of frequencies, wherein the comparison involves calculating the acoustic transfer function at the first location based on the acoustic transfer function at other locations in the environment and correcting the measured sound based on the calculated the acoustic transfer function at the first location;
determining the equalized audio content based on the comparison and the audio content; and
transmitting, to one or more nodes in the coordination device that are communicatively coupled to one or more antennas, one or more frames that include the equalized audio content for the electronic devices.