Apparatus, Method or Computer Program for Processing a Sound Field Representation in a Spatial Transform Domain

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This invention describes an apparatus, method, and computer program for processing spatial (3D) sound so that audio can be rendered from any arbitrary listener position or orientation, even when the audio was originally recorded at a fixed reference location. By transforming the sound field into a virtual loudspeaker domain, optionally applying spatial filters, and then re-projecting it to match new desired listener positions or orientations (using spatial mathematics such as matrix transformations), the system ensures that the perceived audio matches the user's point of view. This is especially valuable, for example, in applications where users move freely in virtual or augmented environments or when the visual perspective of a 360° video is changed and the audio perspective needs to follow accordingly.

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• Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) environments where users can look or move in any direction and the audio scene must be consistent with their virtual position/orientation.
• 360° video playback, ensuring the audio perspective updates as users change their visual viewpoint or zoom in on different parts of a scene.
• Advanced gaming, where players move freely in a 3D environment and spatial audio must adjust for realism and immersion.
• Professional audio production and post-production, for creating dynamic, spatially adaptive audio experiences from a single recording session.
• Teleconferencing and remote collaboration tools, giving participants the perception of being present at different positions within a virtual sound environment.
• Simulation and training applications, where authentic audio cues about direction and distance are crucial for realism.

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Delivers a seamless and realistic audio experience that adapts to any listener position or orientation, matching what users see or do in immersive environments.
• Avoids the need for capturing or simulating audio at many physical positions, significantly reducing recording complexity and cost.
• Enables consistent, high-fidelity audio rendering during dynamic changes in viewer viewpoint, including arbitrary rotations, translations, and zooms.
• Minimizes processing artifacts due to using linear (matrix-based) transformations rather than nonlinear parametric modeling, resulting in clearer and more pleasant sound quality.
• Supports a wide range of input and output audio formats (microphones, loudspeakers, Ambisonics, binaural, audio objects etc.), increasing compatibility and versatility across applications.
• Allows efficient implementation in software or hardware, including real-time or interactive applications, due to the possibility of pre-computed transformation matrices or fast calculation methods.

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Patent Abstract

An apparatus for processing a sound field representation related to a defined reference point or a defined listening orientation for the sound field representation, comprises: a sound field processor for processing the sound field representation using a deviation of a target listening position from the defined reference point or of a target listening orientation from the defined listening orientation, so that a processed sound field description is obtained, wherein the processed sound field description, when rendered, provides an impression of the sound field representation at the target listening position being different from the defined reference point or for the target listening orientation being different from the defined listening orientation, or for processing the sound field representation using a spatial filter so that the processed sound field description is obtained, wherein the processed sound field description, when rendered, provides an impression of a spatially filtered sound field description, wherein the sound field processor (1000) is configured to process the sound field representation so that the deviation or the spatial filter (1030) is applied in a spatial transform domain having associated therewith a forward transform rule (1021) and a backward transform rule (1051).