Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc.

Samuel Charles Mindlin

Kunal Jathal

Mohammad Raheel Khalid

Shan Anis

Manuel Enrique Caceres

Taussif Khan

Dan Sun

Denny Breitenfeld

Oliver S Castaneda

David G Skuratowicz

William Robert Davey

Scott David Brown

Zhiguang Eric Zhang

An illustrative collaboration space provider system provides a virtual collaboration session that allows for audio communication between a user and one or more other users virtually located within a virtual collaboration space. The user is represented by an avatar located at an avatar location within the virtual collaboration space. The collaboration space provider system receives user input from the user, the user input representative of a voice origination location that is within the virtual collaboration space and is distinct from the avatar location. During the virtual collaboration session, the collaboration space provider system simulates propagation within the virtual collaboration space of a voice communication spoken by the user. The propagation of the voice communication is simulated to originate from the voice origination location and not from the avatar location. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

Independent control of avatar location and voice origination location within a virtual collaboration space

An illustrative application executing on a first device establishes a first network connection between the first device and a collaboration platform server managing a set of components for a collaboration platform providing voice communication services with respect to a virtual space. Using the first network connection, the application: 1) sets a first location within the virtual space at which a first voice component is positioned, and 2) determines a second location within the virtual space at which a second voice component is positioned. The application receives, by way of a second network connection between the first and second devices, audio data representing voice communication originating at the second device. Based on the first and second locations, the application generates a spatialized rendering of the audio data for presentation to a user. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

Methods and systems for spatial rendering of multi-user voice communication

An illustrative collaboration space provider system defines, within a virtual collaboration space, a sound boundary associated with a particular avatar located within the virtual collaboration space. The collaboration space provider system then prevents, based on the sound boundary, at least one direction of audio communication for a user represented by the particular avatar. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

Sound boundaries for a virtual collaboration space

An illustrative frequency-domain encoder system transforms time-domain data representative of a content instance into frequency-domain data representative of the content instance. The frequency-domain data includes a plurality of complex coefficients each representing different frequency components of a plurality of frequency components incorporated by the content instance. The frequency-domain encoder system generates a frequency-domain data container that includes the complex coefficients of the frequency-domain data and metadata descriptive of the frequency-domain data. Additionally, within the frequency-domain data container, the frequency-domain encoder system integrates the complex coefficients of the frequency-domain data with timing data representative of a time-dependent feature of the content instance. Corresponding systems and methods are also disclosed.

Methods and systems for encoding frequency-domain data

An illustrative audio processing system identifies an experience location with which an augmented reality presentation device is associated. The experience location is included within a multizone augmented reality space that is presented by the augmented reality presentation device. The audio processing system determines that the experience location is within both a first sound zone and a second sound zone of the multizone augmented reality space, and, based on the determining that the experience location is within both the first and second sound zones, generates a binaural audio stream for presentation by the augmented reality presentation device. The binaural audio stream includes an environmental audio component implemented by a mix of a first environmental audio stream associated with the first sound zone and a second environmental audio stream associated with the second sound zone. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

Audio processing methods and systems for a multizone augmented reality space

An illustrative collaboration space provider system provides a virtual collaboration experience that allows for audio communication between a plurality of users represented by a plurality of avatars located within a virtual collaboration space. The collaboration space provider system defines, based on user input from a first user included in the plurality of users and represented by a first avatar located within the virtual collaboration space, a sound boundary between a first location of the first avatar within the virtual collaboration space and a second location of a second avatar within the virtual collaboration space. Based on the sound boundary between the first and second locations, the collaboration space provider system then prevents audio communication in at least one direction between the first user and a second user represented by the second avatar. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

User-definable sound boundaries to regulate audio communication within a virtual collaboration space

An exemplary speech presentation system receives a simulated binaural audio signal merging together a plurality of concurrent speech instances originating from a plurality of different speakers speaking concurrently. The speech presentation system also receives acoustic propagation data representative of respective propagation effects applied, within the simulated binaural audio signal, to each of the concurrent speech instances to simulate propagation of the concurrent speech instances. Based on the acoustic propagation data, the speech presentation system extracts, from the simulated binaural audio signal, a different auto-transcribable speech signal for each of the plurality of concurrent speech instances. Additionally, based on the extracted auto-transcribable speech signals, the speech presentation system generates a different closed captioning dataset for each of the plurality of concurrent speech instances. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

Methods and systems for speech presentation based on simulated binaural audio signals

An orchestration device may receive a request to register available multi-access edge computing (MEC) resources to be shared with a network operator. For example, the available MEC resources may be provided by a provider operating a MEC host located in an edge region of a radio access network (RAN) associated with the network operator. The orchestration device may receive information related to a requested MEC session to support an application workload for a user equipment in communication with a base station located in the edge region of the RAN and assign at least a portion of the application workload to the MEC host based on a profile for the MEC host and a service level agreement specifying one or more performance requirements associated with the application workload. Accordingly, the orchestration device may cause the portion of the application workload to be transmitted to the MEC host.

System and method for sharing multi-access edge computing resources in a wireless network

An exemplary mobile edge compute ('MEC') server implementing an extended reality audio processing system generates a near-field audio data stream and a far-field audio data stream. The near-field audio data stream is configured to be rendered by a near-field rendering system, while the far-field audio data stream is configured to be rendered by a far-field rendering system. The near-field and far-field audio data streams are each representative of virtual sound presented to an avatar of a user experiencing an extended reality world. The MEC server provides the near-field and far-field audio data streams to a media player device separate from the MEC server and implementing the near-field and far-field rendering systems. Specifically, the MEC server provides the audio data streams for concurrent rendering by the media player device as the user experiences the extended reality world using the media player device. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

Methods and systems for extended reality audio processing for near-field and far-field audio reproduction

An exemplary network-edge-deployed transcoding system ('transcoding system') establishes a communication connection with a media player device that is distinct from the transcoding system. The transcoding system accesses media data representative of media content that is to be rendered by the media player device and is encoded in the media data using a first data format. As the media player device renders the media content, the transcoding system transcodes the media data in a just-in-time transcoding manner from representing the media content in the first data format to representing the media content in a second data format. As the transcoding of the media data is performed, the transcoding system provides the transcoded media data representing the media content in the second data format to the media player device by way of the communication connection. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

Network-edge-deployed transcoding methods and systems for just-in-time transcoding of media data

An exemplary acoustics simulation system selects, from an impulse response library, an impulse response that corresponds to a subspace of an extended reality world. Based on the selected impulse response, the acoustics simulation system generates audio data customized to the subspace of the extended reality world. Additionally, the acoustics simulation system provides the generated audio data for simulating acoustics of the extended reality world as part of a presentation of the extended reality world. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

Methods and systems for simulating acoustics of an extended reality world

An exemplary acoustics generation system accesses acoustic propagation data representative of characteristics affecting propagation of a virtual sound to an avatar within an extended reality world being experienced by a user associated with the avatar. Based on the acoustic propagation data, the acoustics generation system also generates a binaural audio signal representative of the virtual sound as experienced by the avatar when the propagation of the virtual sound to the avatar is simulated in accordance with the characteristics affecting the propagation. Additionally, the acoustics generation system prepares the binaural audio signal for presentation to the user as the user experiences the extended reality world by way of the avatar. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

Methods and systems for generating audio for an extended reality world

An exemplary frequency-domain encoder system accesses a set of encoder parameters. The frequency-domain encoder system also accesses time-domain data representative of a content instance. In accordance with the set of encoder parameters, the frequency-domain encoder system transforms the time-domain data into frequency-domain data representative of the content instance. The frequency-domain data includes a plurality of complex coefficients each representing different frequency components of a plurality of frequency components incorporated by the content instance. Also in accordance with the set of encoder parameters, the frequency-domain encoder system generates a frequency-domain data container that includes, in a predefined data container format, the complex coefficients of the frequency-domain data and metadata descriptive of the frequency-domain data. Corresponding systems and methods are also disclosed.

An exemplary audio processing system accesses audio stream data representative of a plurality of virtual sounds that virtually originate within an extended reality world and include real-time captured speech originating from a speaking user experiencing the extended reality world and a prerecorded or synthesized sound originating from a real audio source. The audio processing system also accesses acoustic propagation data representative of characteristics that affect propagation within the extended reality world of the virtual sounds to a listening avatar. As the virtual sounds propagate to the listening avatar, the audio processing system renders, based on the audio stream data and the acoustic propagation data, a composite binaural audio stream that represents simulated reproductions of the virtual sounds. The simulated reproductions of the virtual sounds are customized to account for the characteristics that affect the propagation of the virtual sounds to the listening avatar. Corresponding systems and methods are also disclosed.

Methods and systems for providing a composite audio stream for an extended reality world

A spatialized audio presentation system selects, based on an orientation of an avatar with respect to a virtual sound source, a head-related impulse response from a library of head-related impulse responses corresponding to different potential orientations of the avatar with respect to the virtual sound source. The spatialized audio presentation system applies the selected head-related impulse response to a sound that is generated by the virtual sound source and is to be presented to a user associated with the avatar. Additionally, the spatialized audio presentation system applies an additional effect to the sound that is to be presented to the user. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

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Brooklyn, NY, United States of America

Samuel Charles Mindlin