This disclosure describes an apparatus and method of an embodiment of an invention that is improves Direction of Arrival (DOA) determinations. This embodiment of the apparatus includes a plurality of microphones coupled together as a microphone array used for beamforming, the plurality of microphones are positioned at predetermined locations and produce audio signals to be used to form a directional pickup pattern; a processor, memory, storage, and a power supply operably coupled to the microphone array, the processor configured to execute the following steps: processing an algorithm for a Direction of Arrival (DOA) determination; supplemental processing that improves the DOA processing.

A method for audio beam steering, tracking, and audio effects for an immersive reality application is provided. The method includes receiving, from an immersive reality application, a first audio waveform from a first acoustic source to provide to a user of a headset, identifying a perceived direction for the first acoustic source relative to the headset based on a location of the first acoustic source, and providing, to a first speaker in a client device, an audio signal including the first audio waveform, wherein the audio signal includes a time delay and an amplitude of the first audio waveform based on the perceived direction. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause a system to perform the above method, and the system, are also provided.

A method to assess user condition for wearable devices using electromagnetic sensors is provided. The method includes receiving a signal from an electromagnetic sensor, the signal being indicative of a health condition of a user of a wearable device, selecting a salient attribute from the signal, and determining, based on the salient attribute, the health condition of the user of the wearable device. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause a system to perform the above method, and the system, are also provided.

A headphone, headphone system, and speech enhancing method is provided to enhance speech pick-up from the user of a headphone and includes receiving a plurality of signals from a set of microphones and generating a primary signal by array processing the microphone signals to steer a beam toward the user's mouth. A noise reference signal is also derived from one or more microphones via a delay-and-sum technique, and a voice estimate signal is generated by filtering the primary signal to remove components that are correlated to the noise reference signal.

The present disclosure discloses an acoustic output apparatus including at least one acoustic driver, a controller, and a supporting structure. The at least one acoustic driver may be configured to output sounds through at least two sound guiding holes. The at least two sound guiding holes may include a first sound guiding hole and a second sound guiding hole. The controller may be configured to control a phase and an amplitude of the sounds generated by the at least one acoustic driver using a control signal such that the sounds output by the at least one acoustic driver through the first and second sound guiding holes have opposite phases. The supporting structure may be provided with a baffle and configured to support the at least one acoustic driver such that the first and second sound guiding holes are located on both sides of the baffle.

A system for obtaining content for display to a user of a head-mountable display device, HMD, the system comprising one or more audio detection units operable to capture audio in the environment of the user, a motion prediction unit operable to predict motion of the HMD in dependence upon the captured audio, and a content obtaining unit operable to obtain content for display in dependence upon the predicted motion of the HMD.

Transducer steering and configuration systems and methods using a local positioning system are provided. The position and/or orientation of transducers, devices, and/or objects within a physical environment may be utilized to enable steering of lobes and nulls of the transducers, to create self-assembling arrays of the transducers, and to enable monitoring and configuration of the transducers, devices, and objects through an augmented reality interface. The transducers and devices may be more optimally configured which can result in better capture of sound, better reproduction of sound, improved system performance, and increased user satisfaction.

The present disclosure provides an acoustic output apparatus including one or more status sensors, at least one low-frequency acoustic driver, at least one high-frequency acoustic driver, at least two first sound guiding holes, and at least two second sound guiding holes. The status sensors may detect status information of a user. The low-frequency acoustic driver may generate at least one first sound, a frequency of which is within a first frequency range. The high-frequency acoustic driver may generate at least one second sound, a frequency of which is within a second frequency range including at least one frequency exceeding the first frequency range. The first and second sound guiding holes may output the first and second spatial sound, respectively. The first and second sound may be generated based on the status information, and may simulate a target sound coming from at least one virtual direction with respect to the user.

Embodiments include an audio system comprising a plurality of microphones disposed in an environment, wherein the plurality of microphones is configured to detect one or more audio sources, and generate location data indicating a location of each of the one or more audio sources relative to the plurality of microphones; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the plurality of microphones, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive the location data from the plurality of microphones, and define a plurality of audio pick-up regions in the environment based on the location data, the plurality of audio pick-up regions comprising a first audio pick-up region and a second audio pick-up region, wherein the plurality of microphones are configured to deploy a first lobe within the first audio pick-up region and a second lobe within the second audio pick-up region.

The invention relates to a variable-directivity MEMS microphone. The microphone comprises an acoustic cavity. The following components are provided inside the acoustic cavity: a first acoustic transducer for detecting an acoustic signal and converting the acoustic signal into a first acoustic conversion signal; a first pre-amplifier, connected to the first acoustic transducer, and configured for outputting a first electric signal; a second acoustic transducer for detecting an acoustic signal and converting the acoustic signal into a second acoustic conversion signal; a second pre-amplifier, connected to the second acoustic transducer, and configured for outputting a second electric signal; and a signal processing chip, connected to the first pre-amplifier and the second pre-amplifier, and configured for generating a directional output signal by performing an arithmetic operation on the first electric signal and the second electric signal under the action of a switching control signal.