IP Library Granted Patent US 11,340,704
Granted Patent B2
US 11,340,704 · App. 17/000,244 · Granted May 24, 2022

Tactile audio enhancement

Inventors: Stuart Mansbridge (Montreal, CA); Noah Baxter (San Francisco, CA); Louis-Piere Guidetti (Los Angeles, CA); Sarosh Khwaja (Palo Alto, CA); Todd Chernecki (Palo Alto, CA); Jérôme Lavoie (San Francisco, CA)
Assignee: SUBPAC, INC.
G06F3/016G06F3/04812G06F3/162G06F3/167G06N3/02
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,340,704
App. No.
17/000,244
Granted
May 24, 2022
Kind
B2
Abstract

A system may include a tactile device configured to receive a tactile signal and generate vibrations corresponding to a tactile audio experience based on the tactile signal. The system may also include a computing device configured to perform operations that include receiving an audio signal, and decomposing the audio signal to identify one or more components of the audio signal. The operations may also include generating, by an artificial intelligence system of the computing device, a generated tactile signal based on the one or more components of the audio signal. The operations may also include providing the generated tactile signal to the tactile device.

Claims (53)

1. A method of optimizing personalized tactile output comprising:

receiving an audio signal;

decomposing the audio signal to identify one or more components of the audio signal;

generating, by an artificial intelligence system, a tactile signal based on the one or more components of the audio signal, the tactile signal representative of tactile audio corresponding to the audio signal;

providing the generated tactile signal to a tactile device to produce the tactile audio;

in response to the generated tactile signal, receiving feedback; and

modifying parameters of the tactile signal in response to the received feedback based on a use-case of the tactile device for reproducing the tactile signal.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving feedback comprises receiving user input identifying a user preference associated with the tactile signal.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving feedback comprises receiving an electronic signal from a sensor while a tactile device for reproducing the tactile signal is active.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving feedback comprises comparing the tactile signal to a target metric before activation of a tactile device for reproducing the tactile signal, and wherein modifying parameters of the tactile signal is performed to shift the tactile signal closer to the target metric than the tactile signal was before receiving the feedback.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein modifying parameters of the tactile signal comprises iteratively adjusting the parameters of the tactile signal based on iteratively receiving the feedback to shift the tactile signal towards a target metric.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the received audio signal is a real-time audio signal.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein decomposing the audio signal comprises:

extracting individual audio components of the audio signal; and

analyzing each of the individual audio components of the audio signal.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein extracting individual audio components comprises separating harmonic sounds from percussive sounds; and

wherein the artificial intelligence system treats the harmonic sounds separately from the percussive sounds in generating the tactile signal.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the tactile signal comprises:

filtering non-tactile frequencies out of the audio signal to yield tactile frequencies of the audio signal;

separating the tactile frequencies of the audio signal into constituent components;

analyzing the constituent components of the tactile frequencies of the audio signal; and

synthesizing the tactile signal based on the analysis by individually adjusting each of the constituent components.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein analyzing the constituent components comprises at least one of:

converting each of the constituent components into an audio transcription upon which the synthesized tactile signal is based; and

detecting transient events as a trigger for tactile content.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the tactile signal comprises:

identifying a fundamental frequency of the audio signal;

identifying subharmonics of the fundamental frequency for inclusion in the tactile signal; and

compiling the identified subharmonics into the tactile signal.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the tactile signal is performed based on a use-case of the tactile device for reproducing the tactile signal, the use-case of the tactile device comprising at least one of:

to recreate a tactile sensation associated with a given audio experience;

to generate a neutral experience during audio production; and

to create a new tactile audio experience.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the tactile signal is performed based on a context within which a tactile device for reproducing the tactile signal is used, the context of the tactile device comprising at least one of:

the tactile device disposed in association with a seat of a vehicle;

the tactile device disposed in association with a chair or couch; and

the tactile device disposed in association with a wearable device.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein decomposing the audio signal comprises extracting a plurality of frequency bands as tactile audio frequency bands.

15. The method of claim 4 , wherein generating the tactile audio comprises applying distinct audio processing to each of the tactile audio frequency bands.

16. A method of personalizing an audio experience comprising:

obtaining audio input;

obtaining a tactile audio signal associated with an audible audio portion of the audio input;

prior to activating a tactile device, applying a first audio processing technique to the audible audio portion of the audio input activating the tactile device to reproduce the tactile audio signal; and

applying a second audio processing technique on the audible audio portion of the audio input based on the tactile device being activated instead of a first audio processing technique applied when the tactile device is not activated.

17. A system, comprising:

a tactile device configured to receive a tactile signal and generate vibrations corresponding to a tactile audio experience based on the tactile signal; and

a computing device configured to perform operations comprising:

receiving an audio signal;

decomposing the audio signal to identify one or more components of the audio signal;

synthesizing, by an artificial intelligence system of the computing device, a synthesized tactile signal based on the one or more components of the audio signal;

providing the synthesized tactile signal to the tactile device;

in response to the synthesized tactile signal, receiving feedback; and

modifying parameters of the tactile signal in response to the received feedback based on a use-case of the tactile device for reproducing the tactile audio experience.

Assignments (3)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 3, 2025
From: SUBPAC, INC.
To: HARMAN BECKER AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, INC.
Reel/Frame 071303/0557 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Feb 1, 2023
From: SUBPAC, INC.
To: MEP CAPITAL HOLDINGS III, L.P.
Reel/Frame 062561/0531 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 20, 2022
From: MANSBRIDGE, STUART; BAXTER, NOAH; GUIDETTI, LOUIS-PIERE; KHWAJA, SAROSH; CHERNECKI, TODD; LAVOIE, JÉRÔME
To: SUBPAC, INC.
Reel/Frame 059656/0918 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62889834 · Aug 21, 2019
Related Publication 20210055796A1 · Feb 25, 2021