Apparatus and Method for Spatially Selective Sound Acquisition by Acoustic Triangulation

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This invention describes an apparatus and method for highly selective audio capture from a specific target location using acoustic triangulation. It uses two directional microphones or 'beamformers', positioned so that their focused 'beams' intersect at the desired point in space (the target location). A signal generator processes the output signals from both beamformers such that the combined output contains significantly more audio information from the targeted spot and suppresses unwanted noise or audio from other directions. The technique mimics the effect of placing a 'spot microphone' at the target location without actually needing to physically install one there.

Use CasesContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Teleconferencing or meeting systems where only one participant's voice at a table needs to be isolated and recorded clearly, even with distant microphones.
• Broadcast and live event audio where a specific performer's or instrument's sound needs to be picked up from a distance among many noise sources.
• Surveillance or security applications where discreet, remote monitoring of a specific spot or conversation in a room is required.
• Smart home voice assistant systems to accurately capture users' voices from distant or varied positions in a room while suppressing irrelevant noises.
• Assistive listening devices for hearing-impaired individuals to focus on select speakers in noisy environments, such as classrooms or auditoriums.

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Allows remote, precise audio capture from a specific location without placing a microphone directly at that spot.
• Improves signal-to-noise ratio by suppressing background noise and interference from other sources or directions.
• Flexible setup: the beamformers can be placed at convenient or unobtrusive locations, as long as their 'beams' overlap at the desired point.
• No need to know or calibrate the exact spatial positions of the microphones in the room, simplifying installation and operation.
• Enables post-processing and adaptive filtering to further enhance selectivity and audio quality.

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Patent Abstract

An apparatus for capturing audio information from a target location is provided. The apparatus comprises a first beamformer (110) being arranged in a recording environment and having a first recording characteristic, a second beamformer (120) being arranged in the recording environment and having a second recording characteristic and a signal generator (130). The first beamformer (110) is configured for recording a first beamformer audio signal and the second beamformer is configured for recording a second beamformer audio signal when the first beamformer (110) and the second beamformer (120) are directed towards the target location with respect to the first and the second recording characteristic. The first beamformer (110) and the second beamformer (120) are arranged such that a first virtual straight line, being defined to pass through the first beamformer (110) and the target location, and a second virtual straight line, being defined to pass through the second beamformer (120) and the target location, are not parallel with respect to each other. The signal generator (130) is configured to generate an audio output signal based on the first beamformer audio signal and on the second beamformer audio signal so that the audio output signal reflects relatively more audio information from the target location compared to the audio information from the target location in the first and the second beamformer audio signal.