ENVIRONMENT AWARE VOICE-ASSISTANT DEVICES, AND RELATED SYSTEMS AND METHODS

    公开(公告)号:US20210097980A1

    公开(公告)日:2021-04-01

    申请号:US16988052

    申请日:2020-08-07

    Applicant: Apple Inc.

    Abstract: An appliance can include a microphone transducer, a processor, and a memory storing instructions. The appliance is configured to receive an audio signal at the microphone transducer and to detect an utterance in the audio signal. The appliance is further configured to classify a speech mode based on the utterance. The appliance is further configured to determine conditions of an environment of the appliance. The appliance is further configured to select at least one of a playback volume or a speech output mode from a plurality of speech output modes based on the classification, and the conditions of the environment of the appliance. The appliance is further configured to adapt the playback volume and/or mode of played-back speech according to the speech output mode. The appliance may be configured to synthesize speech according to the speech output mode, or to modify synthesized speech according to the speech output mode.

    Real-time feedback during audio recording, and related devices and systems

    公开(公告)号:US10665250B2

    公开(公告)日:2020-05-26

    申请号:US16147138

    申请日:2018-09-28

    Applicant: Apple Inc.

    Abstract: An audio appliance can include a microphone transducer configured to receive sound from an environment and to convert the received sound into an audio signal and a display. The audio appliance can include an audio analytics module configured to detect an audio-input impairment by analyzing the audio signal and output a detection signal identifying the audio-input impairment in real-time. The audio-input impairment can include, for example, a poor-intelligibility impairment, a microphone-occlusion impairment, a handling-noise impairment, a wind-noise impairment, or a distortion impairment. The audio appliance can also include an impairment module configured to identify and emit a user-perceptible alert corresponding to the identified audio-input impairment in real-time; and an interactive guidance module configured to present a suggested action to address the audio-input impairment in real-time. Related aspects also are described.

    Echo cancellation using a subset of multiple microphones as reference channels

    公开(公告)号:US10978086B2

    公开(公告)日:2021-04-13

    申请号:US16517400

    申请日:2019-07-19

    Applicant: Apple Inc.

    Abstract: An echo canceller is disclosed in which audio signals of the playback content received by one or more of the microphones from a loudspeaker of the device may be used as the playback reference signals to estimate the echo signals of the playback content received by a target microphone for echo cancellation. The echo canceller may estimate the transfer function between a reference microphone and the target microphone based on the playback reference signal of the reference microphone and the signal of the target microphone. To mitigate near-end speech cancellation at the target microphone, the echo canceller may compute a mask to distinguish between target microphone audio signals that are echo-signal dominant and near-end speech dominant. The echo canceller may use the mask to adaptively update the transfer function or to modify the playback reference signal used by the transfer function to estimate the echo signals of the playback content.

    Echo Cancellation Using A Subset of Multiple Microphones As Reference Channels

    公开(公告)号:US20210020188A1

    公开(公告)日:2021-01-21

    申请号:US16517400

    申请日:2019-07-19

    Applicant: Apple Inc.

    Abstract: An echo canceller is disclosed in which audio signals of the playback content received by one or more of the microphones from a loudspeaker of the device may be used as the playback reference signals to estimate the echo signals of the playback content received by a target microphone for echo cancellation. The echo canceller may estimate the transfer function between a reference microphone and the target microphone based on the playback reference signal of the reference microphone and the signal of the target microphone. To mitigate near-end speech cancellation at the target microphone, the echo canceller may compute a mask to distinguish between target microphone audio signals that are echo-signal dominant and near-end speech dominant. The echo canceller may use the mask to adaptively update the transfer function or to modify the playback reference signal used by the transfer function to estimate the echo signals of the playback content.

    Binaural audio using an arbitrarily shaped microphone array

    公开(公告)号:US10764684B1

    公开(公告)日:2020-09-01

    申请号:US16147140

    申请日:2018-09-28

    Applicant: Apple Inc.

    Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer readable media to improve the operation of an electronic device having multiple microphones organized in an arbitrary, but known, arrangement in the device are described (i.e., having a specific form-factor). In general, techniques are disclosed for using a priori knowledge of an electronic device's spatial acoustic transfer functions to recreate or reconstitute a prior recorded three-dimensional (3D) audio field or environment. More particularly, techniques disclosed herein enable the efficient recording of a 3D audio field. That audio field may later be reconstituted using an acoustic characterization based on the device's form-factor. In addition, sensor data may be used to rotate the audio field so as to enable generating an output audio field that takes into account the listener's head position.

    REAL-TIME FEEDBACK DURING AUDIO RECORDING, AND RELATED DEVICES AND SYSTEMS

    公开(公告)号:US20200105291A1

    公开(公告)日:2020-04-02

    申请号:US16147138

    申请日:2018-09-28

    Applicant: Apple Inc

    Abstract: An audio appliance can include a microphone transducer configured to receive sound from an environment and to convert the received sound into an audio signal and a display. The audio appliance can include an audio analytics module configured to detect an audio-input impairment by analyzing the audio signal and output a detection signal identifying the audio-input impairment in real-time. The audio-input impairment can include, for example, a poor-intelligibility impairment, a microphone-occlusion impairment, a handling-noise impairment, a wind-noise impairment, or a distortion impairment. The audio appliance can also include an impairment module configured to identify and emit a user-perceptible alert corresponding to the identified audio-input impairment in real-time; and an interactive guidance module configured to present a suggested action to address the audio-input impairment in real-time. Related aspects also are described.

    System and method for reducing noise from time division multiplexing of a cellular communications transmitter

    公开(公告)号:US10396835B2

    公开(公告)日:2019-08-27

    申请号:US15625999

    申请日:2017-06-16

    Applicant: Apple Inc.

    Abstract: Systems and methods for reducing effects of time-division multiplexing noise in mobile communications devices. When cellular communication with time-division multiplexing is detected, such as Global System for Mobiles (GSM) communication with Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) protocol, total energy and energy at a repetition frequency of the time division multiplexing is measured in audio signals received from several microphones located in the device. A control signal indicating microphones affected by TDMA noise is provided to signal processing subsystems that receive audio signals from the microphones. A beam former circuit may combine two or more audio signals to produce beam formed signals. The control signal may further indicate beam formed signals affected by TDMA noise based on a ratio of the energy from the repetition frequency to the total energy in the beam formed signals.

    SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REDUCING NOISE FROM TIME DIVISION MULTIPLEXING OF A CELLULAR COMMUNICATIONS TRANSMITTER

    公开(公告)号:US20180367172A1

    公开(公告)日:2018-12-20

    申请号:US15625999

    申请日:2017-06-16

    Applicant: Apple Inc.

    CPC classification number: H04B1/0475 H04J3/14 H04M1/0202 H04M1/6008

    Abstract: Systems and methods for reducing effects of time-division multiplexing noise in mobile communications devices. When cellular communication with time-division multiplexing is detected, such as Global System for Mobiles (GSM) communication with Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) protocol, total energy and energy at a repetition frequency of the time division multiplexing is measured in audio signals received from several microphones located in the device. A control signal indicating microphones affected by TDMA noise is provided to signal processing subsystems that receive audio signals from the microphones. A beam former circuit may combine two or more audio signals to produce beam formed signals. The control signal may further indicate beam formed signals affected by TDMA noise based on a ratio of the energy from the repetition frequency to the total energy in the beam formed signals.

    MICROPHONE-BASED ORIENTATION SENSORS AND RELATED TECHNIQUES
    20.
    发明申请
    MICROPHONE-BASED ORIENTATION SENSORS AND RELATED TECHNIQUES 有权
    基于麦克风的方位传感器及相关技术

    公开(公告)号:US20160360314A1

    公开(公告)日:2016-12-08

    申请号:US14732770

    申请日:2015-06-07

    Applicant: Apple Inc.

    Abstract: An orientation detector can have a first microphone, a second microphone, and a reference microphone spaced from the first microphone and the second microphone. An orientation processor can be configured to determine an orientation of the first microphone, the second microphone, or both, relative to a user's mouth based on a comparison of a relative strength of a first signal associated with the first microphone to a relative strength of a second signal associated with the second microphone. A channel selector in a speech enhancer can select one signal from among several signals based at least in part on the orientation determined by the orientation processor. A mobile communication handset can include a microphone-based orientation detector of the type disclosed herein.

    Abstract translation: 取向检测器可以具有与第一麦克风和第二麦克风间隔开的第一麦克风,第二麦克风和参考麦克风。 取向处理器可以被配置为基于与第一麦克风相关联的第一信号的相对强度与第一麦克风的相对强度的比较来相对于用户的嘴来确定第一麦克风,第二麦克风或两者的取向 第二信号与第二麦克风相关联。 语音增强器中的频道选择器可以至少部分地基于由取向处理器确定的取向,从多个信号中选择一个信号。 移动通信手机可以包括本文公开的类型的基于麦克风的定向检测器。

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