A technique for reducing noise in a listening environment. The technique includes dividing the listening environment into a plurality of zones, where each zone is associated with a different active noise cancellation (ANC) system. A boundary between a first zone included in the plurality of zones and a second zone included in the plurality of zones comprises open space. The technique further includes assigning a plurality of acoustic sensors and a plurality of speakers to the ANC system associated with each zone included in the plurality of zones. The technique further includes, for each zone included in the plurality of zones, acquiring acoustic data via the plurality of acoustic sensors, processing the acoustic data, via a processor, to generate noise cancellation signals, and outputting the noise cancellation signals via the plurality of speakers.

One embodiment provides a method, including: detecting, using one or more audio capture devices, nuisance audio; receiving, from one or more device sensors, contextual information; determining a mitigating audio signal based on the nuisance audio and contextual information; thereafter, emitting, from one or more audio source devices, mitigating audio into an interior space. Other aspects are described and claimed.

A kit for attenuation of noise includes a noise source audio transducer, two ear pieces, and a control unit. The two ear pieces have respective resilient bodies that engage outer portions of ear canals of respective ears of a user while respective in-ear transducers of the two ear pieces are respectively positioned in inner portions of the ear canals. The respective in-ear transducers detect discrepancies (e.g., incomplete superpositioning) between the noise and the anti-noise. The respective in-ear transducers optionally detect respective secondary path effects in the ear canals. The noise source audio transducer detects noise generated by a noise source (e.g., snoring noise). The control unit configures an adaptive filter based at least in part on an error signal, and optionally based in part on secondary path effects. The control unit generates signals representative of anti-noise. The two ear pieces produce the anti-noise responsive to the signals. The two ear pieces produce masking noise with sound level that varies in direct correlation with sound level of the noise generated by the noise source.

A method and system for reducing ambient noise distraction with an electronic personal display is disclosed. One example determines when the electronic personal display is in reader mode. In addition, ambient noise around the electronic personal display is also detected. Noise cancelling sound waves are generated at the electronic personal display for reducing ambient noise distraction. The noise cancelling sound waves are then output from at least one speaker coupled with the electronic personal display.

Certain example embodiments relate to an acoustic wall assembly that uses active and/or passive sound reverberation to achieve noise-disruptive functionality, and/or a method of making and/or using the same. With the active approach, sound waves in a given frequency range are detected by a sound masking circuit. Responsive to detection of such sound waves, an air pump (e.g., speaker) is used to pump air in the wall assembly to actively mask the detected sound waves via reverberation and/or the like. The wall assembly may include one, two, or more walls, and the walls may be partial or full walls. With the passive approach, sound waves in a given frequency range are disrupted via features (e.g., holes, slits, etc.) formed in and/or on a wall itself. These techniques may be used together or separately, in different example embodiments.

Certain example embodiments relate to an acoustic wall assembly that uses active and/or passive sound reverberation to achieve noise-disruptive functionality, and/or a method of making and/or using the same. With the active approach, sound waves in a given frequency range are detected by a sound masking circuit. Responsive to detection of such sound waves, an air pump (e.g., speaker) is used to pump air in the wall assembly to actively mask the detected sound waves via reverberation and/or the like. The wall assembly may include one, two, or more walls, and the walls may be partial or full walls. With the passive approach, sound waves in a given frequency range are disrupted via features (e.g., holes, slits, etc.) formed in and/or on a wall itself. These techniques may be used together or separately, in different example embodiments.

Methods, systems, computer-readable media, and apparatuses for audio signal processing are presented. Some configurations include determining that first audio activity in at least one microphone signal is voice activity; determining whether the voice activity is voice activity of a participant in an application session active on a device; based at least on a result of the determining whether the voice activity is voice activity of a participant in the application session, generating an antinoise signal to cancel the first audio activity; and by a loudspeaker, producing an acoustic signal that is based on the antinoise signal. Applications relating to shared virtual spaces are described.

A loudspeaker system (200) includes an overhead sound image generating (e.g., ATMOS™) elevation sound projecting loudspeaker transducer or array (210) for reproducing an elevation signal and a second cancellation loudspeaker or transducer array (250) for generating and projecting a direct signal cancellation. The cancellation speaker or array (250) is driven with a filtered, polarity reversed version of the elevation signal to cancel undesired direct sound (160) from elevation speaker (210) which would otherwise diminish the quality of elevation signal reproduction for a listener L.

An active noise control device includes a control signal generating unit including a first adaptive filter configured to generate a control signal by performing a filtering process on a reference signal corresponding to noise, an identifying unit configured to identify a peak frequency in an impedance frequency characteristic of an actuator, a peak frequency storage unit configured to store an initial peak frequency of the actuator, a first determination unit configured to determine whether or not a difference between the peak frequency currently identified and the initial peak frequency is greater than or equal to a threshold value, and a control unit configured to change a characteristic of the control signal generated by the control signal generating unit when the first determination unit determines that the difference is greater than or equal to the threshold value.

An active noise control device includes a first adaptive filter configured to generate a control signal by performing a filtering process on a reference signal corresponding to noise, and a first filter coefficient updating unit configured to update a filter coefficient of the first adaptive filter based on based on the reference signal and an added error signal acquired by adding a first error signal acquired by detecting residual noise by a first microphone and a second error signal acquired by detecting residual noise by a second microphone.