Examples of system for ambient aversive sound detection, identification and management are described. The system comprises an earpiece device with a microphone configured to capture ambient sound around a user and sample it into small segments of the ambient sound, a speaker and a regulator to regulate the ambient sound segment transmitted to the speaker. The system further comprises a processing unit that identifies aversive ambient sound signals in the captured sound segment and provide recommendation action to manage the aversive sound signal by removing, supressing, attenuating or masking the aversive signals.

A system and method are provided for dynamic sound mask adjustment. A sound mask is used for obtaining an impulse response measurement that adjusts a generated sound mask dynamically based on real-time ambient noise parameters, while maintaining echo canceller calibration performance. The system includes a dynamic sound mask generator that includes a noise accumulator and monitor that includes a processor and memory including instructions executed by the processor for performing the dynamic sound mask adjustment. If the sound mask is not in the hysteresis range, the current sound mask level and iteration update rate are adjusted. if the sound mask is in the hysteresis range, the current sound mask level and iteration update rate are maintained.

A system for dynamically controlling an echo canceler includes a processor programmed to receive audio data from an audio sensor, to determine a present type of noise in the received audio data, based on the present type of noise, to determine a number of taps to be removed from an echo canceler, and to execute the echo canceler with a reduced number of taps based on the number of taps to be removed.

In the sound insulation apparatus, a sound wave transmitter configured to transmit sound waves with frequencies including the frequencies of propagation sound waves from a sound source and a sound wave receiver configured to receive the sound waves transmitted from the sound wave transmitter are coupled such that the orientation of a sound wave transmission surface of the sound wave transmitter and the orientation of a sound wave receiving surface of the sound wave receiver intersect each other and one pair set is formed. The one pair set is disposed in plurality such that the sound wave transmission surface of one set is spaced from and opposed to the sound wave receiving surface of another set and a space surrounding the sound source is formed. The sound waves transmitted from each of the sound wave transmitters are mixed with the propagation sound waves.

A head-mounted device can effectively manage heat while also managing noise output in a manner that reduces the user's perception thereof. For example, a support member extending across a flow channel can provide multiple sections with different profiles and/or cross-sectional dimensions within the flow channel. Each of the profiles and/or cross-sectional dimensions can generate tonal noises at different frequencies, so that the tonal noises generated are distributed across multiple frequencies to mask such tonal noises among broadband noises that are generated by the head-mounted device. Such a support member can be moveably positioned within the flow channel and rigidly coupled to other components of the head-mounted device. Such a support member can also be used to draw heat away from other components of the head-mounted device to be dissipated by the flow of air within the flow channel.

A vehicle infotainment system that adds background sounds to an outgoing call on a mobile device. The infotainment system comprises: i) a database of selectable augmenting audio signals; and ii) audio processing circuitry configured to receive at a first input an uplink signal from the infotainment system and receive at a second input a selected augmenting audio signal. The audio processing circuitry adapts a spectrum of the first selected augmenting audio signal to prevent the selected augmenting audio signal from masking the uplink signal and combines the adapted selected augmenting audio signal and the uplink signal to produce an augmented uplink signal at an output.

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a noise masking method through variable masking sound level conversion, capable of adjusting an interval for changing a level of a masking sound for masking noise to an optimal interval so that the masking sound is not perceived as noise, by determining a fluctuation trend of a level of audible noise and adjusting the interval for changing the level of the masking sound for masking the noise into an optimal environment through a control unit.

Hearing management, using a portable device or integrated portable devices, can include generating during a hearing diagnostics phase an audiogram based on responses of a user to signals conveyed to the user. In response to detecting ambient noises during the hearing diagnostics phase, noise cancellation can be performed to cancel the ambient noises in conjunction with conveying the signals to the user. During a hearing enhancement phase, sounds can be captured with the portable device. The captured sounds can be enhanced in real-time during the hearing enhancement phase by amplifying select frequencies of the captured sounds using signal gain. The frequencies can be selected, and the signal gain determined based on the audiogram. The captured sounds, now enhanced, can be conveyed to the user as frequency-enhanced sounds.

An information processing device includes a first acquisition unit that acquires biological information on a user, a first judgment execution unit that executes a first judgment on whether a first discomfort condition is satisfied or not based on first discomfort condition information specifying the first discomfort condition and the biological information, a second acquisition unit that acquires a sound signal, an acoustic feature detection unit that detects an acoustic feature based on the sound signal, a second judgment execution unit that executes a second judgment on whether a second discomfort condition is satisfied or not based on second discomfort condition information specifying the second discomfort condition and the acoustic feature, and an output judgment unit that judges whether first masking sound should be outputted or not based on a result of the first judgment and a result of the second judgment.

A computer-implemented method prevents physical interference between co-located users in virtual environments. The method includes identifying a first user associated with a first virtual reality (VR) system and a second user associated with a second VR system. The method also includes predicting a future movement of the first user to perform a first task in a primary virtual environment. The method further includes identifying, in response to the predicting the future movement of the first user, a first physical space needed for the first user. The method includes determining, in response to identifying the first physical space, a likely interference in a first physical location of the first user. The method also includes preventing the likely interference.