IP Library Granted Patent US 11,700,496
Granted Patent B2
US 11,700,496 · App. 17/535,805 · Granted Jul 11, 2023

Audio sample phase alignment in an artificial reality system

Inventor: Alok Kumar Mathur (Cupertino, CA)
Assignee: META PLATFORMS TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
H04R29/005H04R1/406H04R3/005
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,700,496
App. No.
17/535,805
Granted
Jul 11, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

This disclosure describes techniques that include aligning processing of audio samples collected by multiple audio sensors or microphones. In one example, this disclosure describes a method comprising detecting a transition by the second microphone from a disabled state to an enabled state; after detecting the transition, performing phase alignment between audio samples collected by the first microphone and audio samples collected by the second microphone by introducing a delay in starting processing of the audio samples collected by the second microphone; and processing the phase-aligned audio samples.

Claims (58)

1. An artificial reality system comprising a first microphone, a second microphone, and an audio processing system, wherein the audio processing system is configured to:

detect a status change associated with the artificial reality system requiring a more robust audio processing;

responsive to detecting the status change, initiate a transition of the second microphone from a disabled state to an enabled state;

detect a transition by the second microphone from the disabled state to the enabled state;

after detecting the transition, perform phase alignment between audio samples collected by the first microphone and audio samples collected by the second microphone by introducing a delay in starting processing of the audio samples collected by the second microphone; and

process the phase-aligned audio samples.

2. The artificial reality system of claim 1 , wherein the audio processing system is further configured to:

process the audio samples collected by the first microphone using a first pipeline, wherein the first pipeline starts periodically at each of a plurality of starting clock cycles; and

process the audio samples collected by the second microphone using a second pipeline.

3. The artificial reality system of claim 2 , wherein to perform the phase alignment, the audio processing system is further configured to:

start the second pipeline during one of the plurality of starting clock cycles; and

calculate the delay based on a length of the first pipeline and an amount of time until the one of the plurality of starting clock cycles.

4. The artificial reality system of claim 3 , wherein the first pipeline operates at a first sampling frequency, wherein the second pipeline operates at a second sampling frequency that is different than the first sampling frequency, and wherein to calculate the delay, the audio processing system is further configured to:

calculate the delay further based on the difference between the first sampling frequency and the second sampling frequency.

5. The artificial reality system of claim 4 ,

wherein the second sampling frequency is higher than the first sampling frequency.

6. The artificial reality system of claim 1 , wherein to process the phase aligned audio samples, the audio processing system is further configured to perform at least one of:

sound source identification, directional alignment, localization, mixing.

7. The artificial reality system of claim 1 , wherein the status change is a first status change, and wherein the audio processing system is further configured to:

detect a second status change associated with the artificial reality system after the first status change;

determine that the second status change calls for less robust audio processing; and

responsive to detecting the second status change, enter a low-power mode by transitioning the second microphone from the disabled state to the enabled state.

8. A method comprising:

detecting, by an audio processing system in an artificial reality system having a first microphone and a second microphone, a status change associated with the artificial reality system requiring a more robust audio processing;

responsive to detecting the status change, initiate a transition of the second microphone from a disabled state to an enabled state;

detecting, by the audio processing system, a transition by the second microphone from the disabled state to the enabled state;

performing, by the audio processing system and after detecting the transition, phase alignment between audio samples collected by the first microphone and audio samples collected by the second microphone by introducing a delay in starting processing of the audio samples collected by the second microphone; and

processing, by the audio processing system, the phase-aligned audio samples.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

processing, by the audio processing system, the audio samples collected by the first microphone using a first pipeline, wherein the first pipeline starts periodically at each of a plurality of starting clock cycles; and

processing, by the audio processing system, the audio samples collected by the second microphone using a second pipeline.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein performing phase alignment includes:

starting the second pipeline during one of the plurality of starting clock cycles; and

calculating the delay based on a length of the first pipeline and an amount of time until the one of the plurality of starting clock cycles.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the first pipeline operates at a first sampling frequency, wherein the second pipeline operates at a second sampling frequency that is different than the first sampling frequency, and wherein calculating the delay includes:

calculating the delay further based on the difference between the first sampling frequency and the second sampling frequency.

12. The method of claim 11 ,

wherein the second sampling frequency is higher than the first sampling frequency.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein processing the phase aligned audio samples includes at least one of:

sound source identification, directional alignment, localization, mixing.

14. The method of claim 8 , wherein the status change is a first status change, the method further comprising:

detecting, by the audio processing system, a second status change associated with the artificial reality system after the first status change;

determining, by the audio processing system, that the second status change calls for less robust audio processing; and

entering, by the audio processing system and responsive to detecting the second status change, a low-power mode by transitioning the second microphone from the disabled state to the enabled state.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, configure an audio processing system of an artificial reality system to:

detect a status change associated with an artificial reality system requiring a more robust audio processing, wherein the artificial reality system includes a first microphone and second microphone;

responsive to detecting the status change, initiate a transition of the second microphone from a disabled state to an enabled state;

detect a transition by the second microphone from the disabled state to the enabled state;

after detecting the transition, perform phase alignment between audio samples collected by the first microphone and audio samples collected by the second microphone by introducing a delay in starting processing of the audio samples collected by the second microphone; and

process the phase-aligned audio samples.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , further comprising instructions that configure the audio processing system to:

process the audio samples collected by the first microphone using a first pipeline, wherein the first pipeline starts periodically at each of a plurality of starting clock cycles; and

process the audio samples collected by the second microphone using a second pipeline.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16 , further comprising instructions that configure the audio processing system to:

start the second pipeline during one of the plurality of starting clock cycles; and

calculate the delay based on a length of the first pipeline and an amount of time until the one of the plurality of starting clock cycles.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the first pipeline operates at a first sampling frequency, wherein the second pipeline operates at a second sampling frequency that is different than the first sampling frequency, and wherein the instructions that calculate the delay further include instructions that:

calculate the delay further based on the difference between the first sampling frequency and the second sampling frequency.

Assignments (1)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Jul 21, 2022
From: FACEBOOK TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
To: META PLATFORMS TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
Reel/Frame 060802/0799 →
Continuity (3)
Continuation 16738247 · Jan 9, 2020
Provisional Application 62938114 · Nov 20, 2019
Related Publication 20220086580A1 · Mar 17, 2022