Method and apparatus for processing signals of a spherical microphone array on a rigid sphere used for generating an ambisonics representation of the sound field

US9420372B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation · US

Inventors

• Sven Kordon · Wunstorf, DE
• Johann-Markus Batke · Hannover, DE
• Alexander Krueger · Burgdorf, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Oct 31, 2012
• Grant date: Aug 16, 2016
• Expiry date: Oct 31, 2032

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H04S2400/15
• WIPO field: Audio-visual technology
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Spherical microphone arrays capture a three-dimensional sound field (P(Ωc,t) for generating an Ambisonics representation (Anm(t)), where the pressure distribution on the surface of the sphere is sampled by the capsules of the array. The impact of the microphones on the captured sound field is removed using the inverse microphone transfer function. The equalization of the transfer function of the microphone array is a big problem because the reciprocal of the transfer function causes high gains for small values in the transfer function and these small values are affected by transducer noise. The invention estimates (73) the signal-to-noise ratio between the average sound field power and the noise power from the microphone array capsules, computes (74) the average spatial signal power at the point of origin for a diffuse sound field, and designs in the frequency domain the frequency response of the equalization filter from the square root of the fraction of a given reference power and the simulated power at the point of origin.