Active management of a data network facilitates the high-quality live broadcast of captured digital audio from multiple client devices present in a venue. In various aspects, the system includes a network hub. The network hub transmits and receives data from a plurality of the client devices which may be personal mobile devices. A network manager component manages communications of the client devices with the network hub. The network manager uses measured dynamic network parameters and determines conditions for maintaining audio quality according to configurable rules. The dynamic network parameters may include device qualification(s), live measured audio quality of service metrics, and unwanted data packets. In various aspects, dynamic authentication and de-authentication of client devices as well as data transmission throttling of client devices are techniques utilized for active network management. The network manager maintains audio quality for the client device configured or selected to broadcast over the public address system.

A sound system of a vehicle includes a plurality of microphones disposed in a cabin of the vehicle, a plurality of speakers disposed in the cabin of the vehicle, and a sound processor operable to process microphone output signals of the microphones to determine a voice signal of a speaking occupant in the vehicle at or near one of the microphones. The sound processor generates a processor output signal that is provided to at least some of the speakers. Responsive to the processor output signal, the at least some of the speakers generate sound representative of the voice signal of the speaking occupant to direct the sound towards other occupants in the vehicle, while one or more speakers at or near the seat occupied by the speaking occupant do not generate sound representative of the voice signal of the speaking occupant.

In one aspect, a first device includes at least one processor and storage accessible to the at least one processor. The storage includes instructions that may be executable by the processor to receive input from a camera and identify a second device based on the input from the camera. The second device may include at least one speaker and at least one microphone. The instructions may also be executable to identify a current location of the second device within an environment based on the input from the camera and to identify a current location of an object within the environment that is different from the second device. The instructions may then be executable to provide a command to alter operation of the at least one speaker and/or the at least one microphone based on the current location of the second device and the current location of the object.

Described herein is an audio device with a microphone which may adapt the audio output volume of a speaker by either increasing or decreasing output volume based on an audio input volume from a user and a distance from the user to the audio device. The audio device may also adapt its output volume to lower the audio output based on detecting one or more interruptions including occupancy and acoustic sounds.

A method and system for improving the intelligibility of an audio signal emitted from plural audio output devices in a space can help mitigate systems that have low intelligibility at installation due to reverberation effects; it can provide a quick post installation check of a system prior to a full-fledged STIPA (Speech Transmission Index for Public Address Systems) or equivalent test; and it allows for a quick verification if changes to the acoustical environment are expected to have major effects on STIPA tests.

Methods of managing audio data transmissions over a network disclosed herein may include the step of selecting a client device from a plurality of client devices as a participating device, each client device of the plurality of client devices being in data communication with a network. The methods may include the step of signaling the participating device over said network thereby initiating transmitting of audio data from the participating device at least in part over said network for live broadcasting, the audio data being indicative of a speaking voice being input into a participating device microphone of the participating device. The methods may include the step of minimizing latency in transmitting of the audio data by throttling data being communicated over said network by one or more client devices of the plurality of client devices only while the participating device is transmitting audio data over said network.

The invention relates to a hearing aid a cochlear implant comprising a) at least one input transducer for capturing incoming sound and for generating electric audio signals which represent frequency bands of the incoming sound, b) a sound processor which is configured to analyze and to process the electric audio signals, c) a transmitter that sends the processed electric audio signals, d) a receiver/stimulator, which receives the processed electric audio signals from the transmitter and converts the processed electric audio signals into electric pulses, e) an electrode array embedded in the cochlear comprising a number of electrodes for stimulating the cochlear nerve with said electric pulses, and f) a control unit configured to control the distribution of said electric pulses to the number of said electrodes. The control unit is configured to distribute said electric pulses to the number of said electrodes by applying one out of a plurality of different coding schemes, and wherein the applied coding scheme is selected according to characteristics of the incoming sound.

A computer-implemented method and system for performing testing of audio equipment in a conference room, the method executed by one or more processors, comprising: (a) commissioning the conference room with a set of audio video equipment, the set of audio equipment comprising one or more loudspeakers, one or more microphones, and audio signal processing equipment that includes at least an acoustic echo cancellation function; (b) determining an initial audio performance level in the conference room, and storing the initial audio performance level (IAPL); (c) determining that sound quality testing of the audio equipment in the conference room should be performed; (d) disabling the acoustic echo cancellation function in the audio equipment of the conference room such that an output from each of the one or more loudspeakers is not removed from a respective microphone output signal; (e) generating an electrical stimulus test signal and transmitting it to the one or more loudspeakers in the audio equipment of the conference room; (f) receiving an acoustic audio stimulus test signal generated by each of the one or more loudspeakers from each of the one or more microphones, and analyzing each of the received acoustic audio stimulus test signals to generate a current audio performance level (CAPL); (g) comparing the CAPL to the IAPL; and (h) determining if the audio equipment in the conference room passes or fails the sound quality test based on the comparison of the CAPL to the IAPL.

Described herein is an audio device with a microphone which may adapt the audio output volume of a speaker by either increasing or decreasing output volume based on an audio input volume from a user and a distance from the user to the audio device. The audio device may also adapt its output volume to lower the audio output based on detecting one or more interruptions including occupancy and acoustic sounds.

Systems and methods for audio output control are disclosed. Audio may be output via a speaker of a communal device associated with a first portion of an environment. A user may provide a user utterance indicating an intent to add another device in a second portion of the environment to the audio-output session, and/or an intent to move the audio-output session from the first device to the second device, and/or an intent to remove a device from an audio-output session. Based on this determined intent, audio-session queues may be associated and dissociated from devices and device states may be altered to effectuate the intent of the user utterance.