US-20260128029-A1 - AUDIO COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PROXIMATE DEVICES

US20260128029A1US 20260128029 A1US20260128029 A1US 20260128029A1US-20260128029-A1

Abstract

Techniques, apparatuses, and systems for wireless communication between proximate devices are disclosed. A first microphone on a first wearable audio device of a first user receives first audio signals that include speech from a second user proximate to the first user and ambient noise from an environment surrounding the first wearable audio device. The first audio signals are analyzed to determine primary audio directed to the first user. The primary audio is compared to other audio signals received through wireless communication channels between the first wearable audio device and one or more other wearable audio devices. In doing so, some of the other audio signals are determined to be similar to the primary audio and are thus output to the first wearable audio device. As a result, two users can accurately communicate, even in a noisy environment.

Inventors

Nicholas R. Tapias
Anthony J. Kanago

Assignees

MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251219

Claims (20)

1 . A method comprising: receiving, using a first wearable audio device of a first user, first audio signals representative of first ambient noise from an environment surrounding the first wearable audio device; receiving, at the first wearable audio device, from a second wearable audio device of the second user, second audio signals collected by the second wearable audio device, the second audio signals representative of speech from the second user and second ambient noise from an environment surrounding the second wearable audio device; determining from the first audio signals (1) a first portion of the first audio signals including the speech from the second user, wherein the first portion is determined as primary audio and (2) one or more second portions of the first audio signals including the first ambient noise, wherein the one or more second portions are determined as secondary audio; determining a first portion of the second audio signals having at least a threshold amount of overlaps with the first portion of the first audio signals, wherein the first portion of the second audio signals is representative of the speech from the second user; determining one or more second portions of the second audio signals having less than a threshold amount of overlap with the first portion of the first audio signals, wherein the one or more second portions of the second audio signals are representative of the second ambient noise; and outputting, using the first wearable audio device, an adjusted output that includes the first portion of the second audio signal.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein outputting the adjusted output includes generating the adjusted output based on canceling or filtering the one or more second portions of the second audio signals from the second audio signals.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the first portion of the first audio signals includes determining that a first signal strength of the first portion of the first audio signals is greater than a second signal strength of the one or more second portions of the first audio signals.
4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: generating the adjusted output based on combining the first portion of the first audio signals and the second portion of the second audio signals for presenting the speech from the second user to the first user through the first wearable audio device.
5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving, at the first wearable audio device, from a third wearable audio device of the third user, third audio signals collected by the third wearable audio device, the third audio signals including speech from the third user; comparing the first portion of the first audio signals to the second audio signals and the third audio signals to determine that, compared to the third audio signals, the second audio signals have greater overlap with the first portion of the first audio signals; and responsive to determining that the second audio signals have greater similarity to the first portion of the first audio signals, outputting the adjusted output that excludes the third audio signals.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second audio signals is communicated to the first wearable audio device using a Bluetooth or ultra-wideband communication channel.
7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: outputting at the first wearable audio device cancellation output configured to attenuate the first audio signals.
8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: generating the adjusted output includes presenting the first portion of the second audio signal such that the first user hears the speech of the second user at a higher volume relative to a combination of the one or more second portions of the second audio signals and the one or more second portions of the first audio signals.
9 . A first device of a first user, the first wearable audio device comprising: a communications interface; a user interface for interacting with the first user; at least one processor; and at least one non-transitory computer-readable media comprising machine-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: receive through the user interface a first signal representative of an environment surrounding the first device; receive through the communications interface a second signal representative of speech from a second user and second ambient noise from an environment surrounding a second device capturing and sending the second signal; determine from the first signal (1) a first portion of the first signal representative of the speech from the second user, wherein the first portion is determined as primary audio, and (2) one or more second portions of the first signal representative of the first ambient noise, wherein the one or more second portions are determined as secondary audio; determine a first portion of the second signal having at least a threshold amount of overlap with the first portion of the first signal, wherein the first portion of the second signal is representative of the speech from the second user; determine one or more second portions of the second signal having less than a threshold amount of overlap with the first portion of the first signal, wherein the one or more second portions of the second signal are representative of the second ambient noise; and generate through the user interface an adjusted output such that the first user hears the first portion of the second signal at a higher volume in comparison to a combination of the one or more second portions of the second signal and the one or more second portions of the first signal.
10 . The first device of claim 9 , wherein the adjusted output is generated such that the one or more second portions of the second signal are attenuated from the second signal.
11 . The first device of claim 9 , wherein determining the first portion of the first signal includes determining that a first signal strength of the first portion of the first signal is greater than a second signal strength of the one or more second portions of the first signal.
12 . The first device of claim 9 , wherein the instructions further cause the at least one processor to: generate the adjusted output based on combining the first portion of the first signal and the second portion of the second signal to create the adjusted output that includes the speech from the second user.
13 . The first device of claim 9 , wherein the communications interface is configured to communicate with the second device using a wireless communication channel.
14 . The first device of claim 9 , wherein the adjusted output includes cancellation signal configured to attenuate or at least partially cancel the first signal.
15 . A first device of a first user, the first device comprising: a communications interface; a user interface for interacting with the first user; at least one processor; and at least one non-transitory computer-readable media comprising machine-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: receive through the user interface a first signal representative of an environment surrounding the first device; receive through the communications interface a second signal representative of speech from a second user and second ambient noise from an environment surrounding a second device; receive, at the first wearable audio device through the communications interface a third signal representative of speech from a third user and third ambient noise from an environment surrounding a third device; determine from the first signal (1) a first portion of the first signal representative of the speech from the second user, wherein the first portion is determined as primary audio, and (2) one or more second portions of the first signals representative of the first ambient noise, wherein the one or more second portions are determined as secondary audio; determine a first portion of the second signal having a greater amount of overlap with the first portion of the first signals than the third audio signals; and generate through the user interface an adjusted output using the second audio signals but not the third audio signals.
16 . The first wearable audio device of claim 15 , wherein the first signal includes a first ambient noise that captured the speech from the third user.
17 . The first wearable audio device of claim 15 , wherein: the second signal includes a first portion that represents the speech of the second user; the third signal includes a first portion that represents the speech of the second user; and determining that the second signals have greater overlap with the first portion of the first signals includes determining that a first signal strength of the first portion of the second signal is greater than a second signal strength of the first portion of the third signal.
18 . The first wearable audio device of claim 15 , wherein the adjusted output includes a cancellation signals configured to attenuate the first signal or a portion thereof through destructive interference.
19 . The first wearable audio device of claim 15 , wherein the communication interface is configured to communicate using a Bluetooth or ultra-wideband communication channel.
20 . The first wearable audio device of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the at least one processor to: compare the first portion of the first signal to the second signal to determine ( 1 ) that a first portion of the second signal has at least a threshold amount of overlap with the first portion of the first audio signals and ( 2 ) that a second portion of the second signals has less than a minimum threshold amount of overlap with the first portion of the first signal, wherein the first portion of the second signal includes the speech from the second user; and in response to determining that the first portion of the second signal has at least the threshold amount of overlap with the first portion of the first signal, generate the adjusted output including the first portion of the second signal but not the second portion of the second signal.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/417,273, filed Jan. 19, 2024, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Ser. No. 63/445,981 , filed Feb. 15, 2023, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure generally relates to audio communication devices and more particularly relates to audio communication between proximate devices. BACKGROUND Wearable audio devices (e.g., headphones or earpieces) output audio to a user. Many wearable audio devices include noise cancellation technology to reduce ambient noise from an environment surrounding the wearable audio devices. Noise cancellation can be performed by collecting audio signals representative of ambient noise in the environment using a microphone of a wearable audio device. The audio signals can be analyzed to generate antiphase signals, which are output through a speaker of the wearable audio device to cancel the ambient noise. In doing so, the wearable audio device can output audio with minimal interference from ambient noise in the environment surrounding the wearable audio device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 illustrates a wearable audio device in accordance with embodiments of the present technology. FIG. 2 illustrates an environment for audio communication between proximate devices in accordance with embodiments of the present technology. FIG. 3 illustrates a method for audio communication between proximate devices in accordance with embodiments of the present technology. FIG. 4 illustrates a method for audio communication between proximate devices in accordance with embodiments of the present technology. DETAILED DESCRIPTION In noisy environments, users can struggle to communicate due to high ambient noise. Communication can become especially difficult when the users are communicating information that may be foreign to one of the users or when accuracy of the information is increasingly important. Take, for example, a situation in which a first user is training a second user to perform a job function while in a noisy factory. The noisy factory includes various equipment that interferes with the communication between the users. As a result, the users are not able to communicate accurately and efficiently with one another. A user can wear an audio device (e.g., headphones or earpieces) to enable audio to be output directly to the user. For example, an audio device can include a microphone that collects speech from a user, and the speech can be output through a speaker of another audio device connected to the audio device and worn by another user. In this way, speech can be communicated between the two users using the audio devices. In a noisy environment, however, the user's microphone can collect ambient noise from the environment, which can interfere with the audibility of the speech. Moreover, the ambient noise from the environment can make it difficult for the other user to hear the audio output. Many wearable audio devices include noise cancellation technology to reduce ambient noise from an environment surrounding the wearable audio devices. However, noise cancellation fails to isolate the speech from the ambient noise, canceling the speech and the ambient noise alike. Accordingly, additional techniques may be used to enable accurate communication between multiple users. Specifically, the audio devices disclosed herein enable a first microphone on a first audio device of a first user to receive first audio signals that include speech from a second user and ambient noise from an environment surrounding the first audio device. A second microphone on a second audio device can collect second audio signals that include the speech from the second user and ambient noise from the environment surrounding the second audio device. The first audio device can determine that a portion of the first audio signals includes speech directed to the first user. The portion of the first audio signals can be compared to the second audio signals to isolate a portion of the second audio signals that includes the speech from a portion that includes the ambient noise. In doing so, the second audio signals can be transmitted to the first audio device where they are played back such that the ambient noise is attenuated, thereby improving the audibility of the speech from the second user. The audio devices disclosed herein can similarly determine which speech should be output to a first user when multiple users are speaking in close proximity to the first user. For example, a second user can speak to the first user, and a third user can speak to a fourth user in close enough proximity to the first user to be captured by a first microphone on a first audio device of the first user. A second microphone on a second audio device of the second user can collect audio signals that include speech from the second user, and a