The present invention is directed to a wireless confidential device for voice communication that has an ergonomically shaped housing with a flange, the shape of which reflects a covering area around a user's mouth. The housing further has at least one microphone, transceiver, switch, sound absorbing means. The sound reducing means can include a front portion, side portions and back portion. The flange is located on the inner surface of the front part of the housing. The device also has a wired or wireless headset, at least one headphone connected with the mobile communication means, and arranged to complement the passive muffling methods of speech by active muffling methods of speech and noise reduction techniques.

For example, an apparatus may include an input to receive input information including a Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) input including HVAC configuration information corresponding to a configuration of an operation of an HVAC system of a vehicle; a plurality of noise inputs representing acoustic noise at a plurality of noise sensing locations; and a plurality of residual-noise inputs representing acoustic residual-noise at a plurality of residual-noise sensing locations within at least one sound control zone in the vehicle; a controller configured to determine a sound control pattern to control sound within the at least one sound control zone in the vehicle, the controller configured to determine the sound control pattern based on the HVAC input, the plurality of noise inputs and the plurality of residual-noise inputs; and an output to output the sound control pattern to a plurality of acoustic transducers.

An active noise control unit generates a noise canceling sound of a single frequency that cancels engine sound heard by an occupant and outputs the noise canceling sound to a speaker through an amplifier. A second harmonic detector and a third harmonic detector detect a magnitude of a harmonic component of the noise canceling sound included in sound collected by a microphone. A controller controls a frequency of the noise canceling sound generated by the active noise control unit to a fundamental frequency of the engine sound based on a rotation frequency of the engine, and in addition, causes an output level control unit to control a level of the noise canceling sound to be output to the amplifier so that the level of the noise canceling sound becomes higher when the magnitude of the harmonic component exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

There is provided an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that can suppress hindrance to viewing/listening to content. A control unit controls output of a tactile stimulus in a case where notification information is received during output of content including sound. Further, the control unit performs a process of controlling the tactile stimulus in response to the content or a process of controlling the content in response to the tactile stimulus. The present technology can be applied to, for example, a mobile device such as a smartphone and the like capable of reproducing content including sound.

An audio system for a wearable device dynamically updates acoustic transfer functions. The audio system is configured to estimate a direction of arrival (DoA) of each sound source detected by a microphone array relative to a position of the wearable device within a local area. The audio system may track the movement of each sound source. The audio system may form a beam in the direction of each sound source. The audio system may identify and classify each sound source based on the sound source properties. Based on the DoA estimates, the movement tracking, and the beamforming, the audio system generates or updates the acoustic transfer functions for the sound sources.

Various aspects include a wearable audio device having active noise reduction (ANR), where the ANR device includes: a feedback microphone; an electroacoustic transducer; and a feedback compensator configured to output a noise reduction signal to the electroacoustic transducer in response to a feedback signal from the feedback microphone, wherein the feedback compensator includes a tunable filter that modulates a loop gain in response to an adverse low frequency event being detected in the noise reduction signal outputted from the tunable filter, wherein the tunable filter is configured to maintain a substantially similar loop gain shape near a low frequency cross-over as the low frequency cross-over changes during loop gain modulation.

An active noise control unit generates a noise canceling sound of a single frequency that cancels engine sound heard by an occupant and outputs the noise canceling sound to a speaker through an amplifier. A second harmonic detector and a third harmonic detector detect a magnitude of a harmonic component of the noise canceling sound included in sound collected by a microphone. A controller controls a frequency of the noise canceling sound generated by the active noise control unit to a fundamental frequency of the engine sound based on a rotation frequency of the engine, and in addition, causes an output level control unit to control a level of the noise canceling sound to be output to the amplifier so that the level of the noise canceling sound becomes higher when the magnitude of the harmonic component exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

For example, an apparatus may include an input to receive input information including a Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) input including HVAC configuration information corresponding to a configuration of an operation of an HVAC system of a vehicle; a plurality of noise inputs representing acoustic noise at a plurality of noise sensing locations; and a plurality of residual-noise inputs representing acoustic residual-noise at a plurality of residual-noise sensing locations within at least one sound control zone in the vehicle; a controller configured to determine a sound control pattern to control sound within the at least one sound control zone in the vehicle, the controller configured to determine the sound control pattern based on the HVAC input, the plurality of noise inputs and the plurality of residual-noise inputs; and an output to output the sound control pattern to a plurality of acoustic transducers.

Method for suppressing acoustic interfering signals, introduced into a passenger compartment of the motor vehicle, including: detecting a physical size in the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle, generating a detection information describing the detected physical size in the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle, selection of a counter-signal parameter influencing the acoustic counter-signal, depending upon the physical size described through the detection information, and/or adaptation of a counter-signal parameter influencing the acoustic counter-signal, depending upon the physical size described through the detection information, generating an acoustic counter-signal on the basis of the selected counter-signal parameter and/or on the basis of the adapted counter-signal parameter, and outputting the generated acoustic counter-signal into the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle to suppress acoustic interfering signals, introduced into the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle, resulting from the operation of the on-board drive unit.

A hearing protection device includes: a sub-band splitting module configured to divide a first microphone input signal into sub-band signals having a first sub-band signal and a second sub-band signal; an estimator module configured to estimate signal strength parameters of respective sub-band signals, the signal strength parameters having a first signal strength parameter of the first sub-band signal, and a second signal strength parameter of the second sub-band signal; a multiband limiter; and a limiter controller; wherein the limiter controller is configured to determine gain reductions for the sub-band signals of the first microphone input signal, the gain reductions having a first gain reduction and a second gain reduction, and wherein the limiter controller is configured to control the multiband limiter to apply the second gain reduction to the second sub-band signal, wherein the second gain reduction for the second sub-band signal is based on the first signal strength parameter.