Described is a method of hosting a teleconference among a plurality of client devices arranged in two or more acoustic spaces, each client device having an audio capturing capability and/or an audio rendering capability, the method comprising: grouping the plurality of client devices into two or more groups based on their belonging to respective acoustic spaces, receiving first audio streams from the plurality of client devices, generating second audio streams from the first audio streams for rendering by respective client devices among the plurality of client devices, based on the grouping of the plurality of client devices into the two or more groups, and outputting the generated second audio streams to respective client devices. Further described are corresponding computation devise, computer programs, and computer-readable storage media.

In various embodiments, a computer-implemented method comprises receiving a set of two or more first media signals from two or more consoles included in a vehicle, where each of the two or more consoles are included in a common communication session, combining the set of two or more first media signals to generate a composite media signal, transmitting, via a communication link, the composite media signal to a remote destination, receiving, via the communication link, a remote media signal from the remote destination, and causing the two or more first media signals and the remote media signal to be reproduced at the two or more consoles.

Embodiments of the disclosure include methods, apparatus and computer programs for detecting the proximity of an ear to an audio device. In one embodiment, the disclosure provides a system for detecting the presence of an ear in proximity to an audio device. The system comprises: an input for obtaining a data signal from the environment of the audio device; and an ear biometric authentication module configured to: compare one or more ear biometric features, extracted from the data signal, to an ear biometric template; and generate a first output indicative of the presence or absence of any ear in proximity to the audio device based on the comparison of the one or more extracted ear biometric features to the ear biometric template.

A microphone may comprise a microphone element for detecting sound, and a digital signal processor configured to process a first audio signal that is based on the sound in accordance with a selected one of a plurality of digital signal processing (DSP) modes. Each of the DSP modes may be for processing the first audio signal in a different way. For example, the DSP modes may account for distance of the person speaking (e.g., near versus far) and/or desired tone (e.g., darker, neutral, or bright tone). At least some of the modes may have, for example, an automatic level control setting to provide a more consistent volume as the user changes their distance from the microphone or changes their speaking level, and that may be associated with particular default (and/or adjustable) values of the parameters attack, hold, decay, maximum gain, and/or target gain, each depending upon which DSP is being applied.

Systems, methods, devices and non-transitory, computer-readable storage mediums are disclosed for a wearable multimedia device and cloud computing platform with an application ecosystem for processing multimedia data captured by the wearable multimedia device. In an embodiment, a method comprises: receiving, by one or more processors of a cloud computing platform, context data from a wearable multimedia device, the wearable multimedia device including at least one data capture device for capturing the context data; creating a data processing pipeline with one or more applications based on one or more characteristics of the context data and a user request; processing the context data through the data processing pipeline; and sending output of the data processing pipeline to the wearable multimedia device or other device for presentation of the output.

A hands-free device enables a hands-free call by being wirelessly connected to a mobile phone. The hands-free device incudes a hardware processor configured to: perform a control related to data transfer using a transfer protocol for implementing transfer of history data including incoming call history data and outgoing call history data, and phone book data stored in the mobile phone when the mobile phone is in a wireless connection area; receive the history data and the phone book data from the mobile phone through communication using the transfer protocol; and store the history data and the phone book data that are received. The hardware processor is configured to perform the control to transfer the history data prior to the phone book data.

Described is a method of hosting a teleconference among a plurality of client devices arranged in two or more acoustic spaces, each client device having an audio capturing capability and/or an audio rendering capability, the method comprising: grouping the plurality of client devices into two or more groups based on their belonging to respective acoustic spaces, receiving first audio streams from the plurality of client devices, generating second audio streams from the first audio streams for rendering by respective client devices among the plurality of client devices, based on the grouping of the plurality of client devices into the two or more groups, and outputting the generated second audio streams to respective client devices. Further described are corresponding computation devise, computer programs, and computer-readable storage media.

A headset with automatic noise reduction mode switching is provided to enable better call experience when conducting a call. The headset comprises at least one or more earphones, one or more microphones, a processor, and an active noise cancellation circuit, connected at least with the processor. The processor is configured to determine whether a call is being conducted using the headset, and if a call is being conducted, to switch the active noise cancellation circuit from a first ANC mode to a second ANC mode.

An in-vehicle hands-free apparatus is configured to: perform control relating to data transfer using a transfer protocol to achieve transfer of first incoming call history data representing a source of an incoming call received by first communication of voice using a phone application dedicated to an operating system of a mobile phone, first outgoing call history data, phone book data, second incoming call history data representing a source of an incoming call received by second communication of voice using a communication application, second outgoing call history data, and registration data, stored in the mobile phone, when the mobile phone exists in a wireless connection area; and store the received first incoming call history data, first outgoing call history data, phone book data, second incoming call history data, second outgoing call history data, and registration data.

A system for increasing the safety of voice conversations between drivers and remote parties is shown. The system includes an in-vehicle subsystem and a remote subsystem. The system includes a plurality of sensors which are configured to generate monitoring data. The system includes a computing device, which may be distributed between the subsystems and is configured to calculate a risk level as a function of the monitoring data. The computing device may engage an automatic safety response as a function of the risk level, that may include suspension or termination of on-going conversations among the parties, together with notification about the status of the communication channel. The safety response may be communicated to the driver by generating an alert. The in-vehicle and the remote subsystems communicate using a wireless connection and collaborate in engaging the automatic safety response and communicating any alerts to the driver and remote party using notifications.