A method of determining an audio controller for a headphone that is configured to use an acoustic transducer to develop sound that is delivered to an ear of a user and that includes a feedback microphone that is configured to sense sound developed by the acoustic transducer, and a related computer program product and system. A first audio transfer function between the acoustic transducer and the feedback microphone is measured. A second audio transfer function between the acoustic transducer and the feedback microphone with a feedback controller applied is determined. The audio controller is calculated based on both the first audio transfer function and the second audio transfer function.

Technology described in this document can be embodied in an earpiece of an active noise reduction (ANR) device. The earpiece includes a plurality of microphones, wherein each of the plurality of microphones is usable for capturing ambient audio to generate input signals for both an ANR mode of operation and a hear-through mode of operation of the ANR device. The earpiece further includes a controller configured to: process a first subset of microphones from the plurality of microphones to generate input signals for the ANR mode of operation and process a second subset of microphones from the plurality of microphones to generate input signals for the hear-through mode of operation. The second subset of microphones excludes a first microphone from the plurality of microphones located closest to a noise pathway of the earpiece.

In one aspect a method that includes receiving an input signal captured by one or more first sensors associated with an active noise reduction (ANR) device, and processing the input signal using a first filter disposed in an ANR signal path to generate a first signal for an acoustic transducer of the ANR device. The input signal is processed in a pass-through signal path disposed in parallel with the ANR signal path to generate a second signal for the acoustic transducer, wherein the pass-through signal path allows a portion of the input signal to pass through to the acoustic transducer in accordance with a variable gain. One or more second sensors detect an existence of a condition likely to cause instability in the pass-through signal path, and in response, the variable gain is adjusted. A driver signal for the acoustic transducer is generated using an output based on the adjusted gain.

A method, system, and apparatus for noise cancelation is disclosed, which may be used in a wireless unit (WU). The WU may include a processor, a memory, a user interface, one or more internal microphones and internal speakers. A removably connected headset may include microphones and speakers. The WU may receive a first signal from the headset. The WU may receive a first ambient noise at the one or more internal microphones, and the WU may generate a second signal based on the first ambient noise. The WU may calculate an estimate of ambient noise based on the first and second signals, calculate a signal for noise cancellation based on the estimate, cancel estimated ambient noise from an audio output signal based on an application of the signal for noise cancellation, and send the audio output signal to one or more speakers of the headset or of the WU.

A method and an apparatus for audio signal processing selection are provided. In the method, multiple audio signal processing operations are performed on a synthesized audio signal to generate multiple processed audio signals, the audio signal processing operations are evaluated according to the comparison results between the processed audio signals and the primary signal, and the audio signal processing operation corresponding to a designated application and the designated audio output mode is selected according to the evaluation result of the audio signal processing operations. The synthesized audio signal is generated by adding a secondary signal into a primary signal. The signal processing is related to remove the secondary signal from the synthesized audio signal. Those processed audio signals are used by the designated application at the designated audio output mode. The comparison result is related to signal similarity. The evaluation result is related to the highest signal similarity.

A listening system includes a first microphone device and a second microphone device that generate a first electronic signal and a second electronic signal corresponding to sound within audio detection range. Control logic of the first microphone device detects a crosstalk audio signal from a direction of the second microphone device that matches the second electronic signal. The first electronic signal includes a mixture that includes the crosstalk audio signal. An ear playback device is associated with the second microphone device. A processing device receives the first electronic signal and the second electronic signal, removes the second electronic signal from the first electronic signal to generate a cleansed first electronic signal, and processes the cleansed first electronic signal to integrate the cleansed first electronic signal into an output signal to the ear playback device.

In at least one embodiment, an active noise cancellation system. The system includes a first controller, a data bus, and a second controller. The first controller receives first information from a plurality of noise sensing devices and second information from an audio system. The first controller employs a time division multiplexing scheme to generate a multiplexed stream of data including the first information and the second information. The data bus transmits the multiplexed stream of data on a single data channel. The second controller receives the multiplexed stream of data on the single data channel and separates the first information from the second information on the multiplexed stream of data to perform ANC functionality.

A method is provided, including: executing an interactive application, wherein executing the interactive application includes rendering video and audio of a virtual environment, the video being presented on a display viewed by a user, and the audio being presented through headphones worn by the user, and wherein executing the interactive application is responsive to user input generated from interactivity by the user with the presented video and audio; receiving environmental input from at least one sensor that senses a local environment in which the user is disposed; analyzing the environmental input to identify activity occurring in the local environment; responsive to identifying the activity, then adjusting a level of active noise cancellation applied by the headphones.

An earbud system for reducing noise is disclosed. The earbud system comprises an analog to digital converter to convert analog audio signals of a sound captured by one or more sound sensors into digital audio signals, and one or more processors to filter one or more raw bits with a specific frequency band from the digital audio signals to obtain filtered digital audio signals and extract human audible frequency bands from the filtered digital audio signals. The processors predict and/or classify, using an artificial intelligence based mechanism, the extracted human audible frequency bands into ambient noise corresponding to a first set of frequencies and desired sound, to be heard by the user, corresponding to a second set of frequencies. The processors further generate anti-phase signals for a first set of frequencies to reduce noise, and audible phase signals for the second set of frequencies.

An ear cup housing has several reference microphones, an error microphone and a speaker. A processor drives the speaker for acoustic noise cancellation and transparency, by processing the microphone signals, and performs an oversight process by adjusting the reference microphone signals in response to detecting wind noise events and scratch events. In another aspect, the ear cup housing has an outside face that is joined to an inside face by a perimeter and the reference microphones are on the perimeter. Other aspects are also described and claimed.