Apple has been granted a patent (number US 12133061 B1) for “Placement of Virtual Speakers Based on Room Layout.”
About the patent
The patent involves processing audio with virtual speakers. In the patent Apple notes that audio signals can be used to drive loudspeakers and loudspeakers can be placed in different locations (e.g., in an entertainment room or living room) to provide an immersive audio experience. Different audio formats, such as 5.1 or 7.1, can prescribe different arrangements of speakers in a listening area.
Alternatively, audio signals can be used to drive speakers of a headphone set. The audio signals can be spatialized to provide an immersive experience for users. Apple wants its devices to be able to provide audio virtual spatialized speakers that are tailored to a user’s setup. For example, if a user watches a movie with a headphone set on, movie audio that is played through the headphone set can be virtualized so that the user perceives sound to be coming from virtualized speakers with set positions located around the user.
Summary of the patent
Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent: “Virtualizing speakers for a headphone set can include determining a location of a display. Locations of one or more virtual speakers can be assigned based on the location of the display. A first virtual speaker can be located at the display. A position of a head of a user can be tracked. Audio content can be spatialized with a spatial renderer to generate spatialized audio signals, based on the tracked position of the head and the locations of the virtual speakers. Other aspects are also described and claimed.”
