Patents by Inventor Alexei Smith

Alexei Smith has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20250010189
    Abstract: A method includes performing, using processing circuitry, a data processing task in response to operation of one or more user controls; generating video material for display to provide guidance to a user in the operation of the user controls to control performance of the data processing task; replaying the video material in response to operation of the one or more user controls; detecting one or more replay confirmation points with respect to the video material; and pausing replay of the video material at a given confirmation point and requesting user confirmation to continue replay of the video material beyond the given confirmation point.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 2024
    Publication date: January 9, 2025
    Applicant: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Alexei Smith, Thriveni Vemula
  • Publication number: 20240399258
    Abstract: A peer highlight generation apparatus comprises receiving circuitry configured to receive peer profile data associated with a user, wherein the peer profile data identifies one or more peer gaming profiles that are respectively associated with one or more peers, wherein each peer has participated with the user in one or more video game sessions; first generating circuitry configured to generate one or more candidate highlights of a given peer, wherein each candidate highlight comprises image data of one of the one or more video game sessions in which the user and the given peer participated together, wherein at least a part of each candidate highlight comprises image data of an in-game avatar of the given peer; selecting circuitry configured to select a highlight from among the one or more generated candidate highlights; and rendering circuitry configured to render, for display, a list of one or more of the peer gaming profiles, wherein the list comprises the peer gaming profile of the given peer, wherein the
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2024
    Publication date: December 5, 2024
    Applicant: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Mark Anderson, Nicholas Anthony Edward Ryan, Alexei Smith, Andrew William Walker
  • Publication number: 20240367046
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method for generating an acoustic environment model for a video game level is provided. The method comprises: obtaining graphical data for visually rendering a gameplay environment of the video game level, the graphical data comprising a three-dimensional geometrical model for the gameplay environment, and generating, based on the graphical data, an acoustic environment model corresponding to the gameplay environment and adapted for the simulating of gameplay sounds therein.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2024
    Publication date: November 7, 2024
    Applicant: Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe Limited
    Inventors: Loic Couthier, Alexei Smith, Nick Ward-Foxton, Atsushi Suganuma, Christopher Buchanan, Lewis Thresh, Michael Eder, Lewis Barn
  • Patent number: 12035123
    Abstract: A system for determining the impulse response of an environment, the system comprising an audio emitting unit operable to emit a predetermined sound in the environment, an audio detection unit operable to record the sound output by the audio emitting unit, and an impulse response generation unit operable to identify an impulse response of the environment in dependence upon a frequency response of the audio emitting unit and/or the audio detection unit, and a difference between the predetermined sound and the recorded sound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2024
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Danjeli Schembri, Marina Villanueva Barreiro, Alexei Smith, Calum Armstrong, Michael Lee Jones
  • Patent number: 11770669
    Abstract: An audio personalisation method for a user includes: testing the user with an audio test, the audio test comprising: moving a portable device, comprising a position tracking mechanism and a speaker, to a plurality of predetermined test positions relative to the user's head; when within a threshold distance of a predetermined test position, playing a test sound through the speaker of the portable device; and detecting the test sound using a microphone proximate to each of the user's ears, and associating resulting measurement data with the predetermined test position, where the resulting measurement data derived from the detected test sounds is characteristic of the user's head morphology; for a corpus of reference individuals for whom respective HRTFs have been generated, comparing the measurement data from the user's audio test or a head-related transfer function ‘HRTF’ derived from this measurement data with corresponding measurement data of some or all respective reference individuals in the corpus or HRTF
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Marina Villanueva Barreiro, Danjeli Schembri, Calum Armstrong, Alexei Smith
  • Patent number: 11765539
    Abstract: An audio personalisation method for a user, to reproduce an area-based or volumetric sound source, includes the steps of, for a head related transfer function ‘HRTF’ associated with the user, smoothing HRTF coefficients relating to peaks and notches in the HRTF's spectral response, responsive to the size of the area or volume of the sound source; filtering the sound source using the smoothed HRTF for the notional position of the sound source; and outputting the filtered sound source signal for playback to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Calum Armstrong, Marina Villanueva Barreiro, Alexei Smith, Michael Lee Jones, Fabio Cappello
  • Patent number: 11500459
    Abstract: A data processing apparatus includes processing circuitry to generate at least one of video content and audio content for a virtual reality environment, input circuitry to receive gaze data for two or more users indicative of a gaze point for each user with respect to the virtual reality environment, and selection circuitry to select at least one object in the virtual reality environment in dependence upon a number of the gaze points corresponding to the object, in which the processing circuitry is configured to adapt at least one of the video content and the audio content in response to the selection of the object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Fabio Cappello, Alexei Smith, Maria Chiara Monti
  • Publication number: 20220345842
    Abstract: A system for determining the impulse response of an environment, the system comprising an audio emitting unit operable to emit a predetermined sound in the environment, an audio detection unit operable to record the sound output by the audio emitting unit, and an impulse response generation unit operable to identify an impulse response of the environment in dependence upon a frequency response of the audio emitting unit and/or the audio detection unit, and a difference between the predetermined sound and the recorded sound.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 13, 2022
    Publication date: October 27, 2022
    Applicant: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Danjeli Schembri, Marina Villanueva Barreiro, Alexei Smith, Calum Armstrong, Michael Lee Jones
  • Publication number: 20220150658
    Abstract: An audio personalisation method for a user, to reproduce an area-based or volumetric sound source, includes the steps of, for a head related transfer function ‘HRTF’ associated with the user, smoothing HRTF coefficients relating to peaks and notches in the HRTF's spectral response, responsive to the size of the area or volume of the sound source; filtering the sound source using the smoothed HRTF for the notional position of the sound source; and outputting the filtered sound source signal for playback to the user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2021
    Publication date: May 12, 2022
    Applicant: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Calum Armstrong, Marina Villanueva Barreiro, Alexei Smith, Michael A Jones, Fabio Cappello
  • Publication number: 20220124448
    Abstract: An audio personalisation method for a user includes: testing the user with an audio test, the audio test comprising: moving a portable device, comprising a position tracking mechanism and a speaker, to a plurality of predetermined test positions relative to the user's head; when within a threshold distance of a predetermined test position, playing a test sound through the speaker of the portable device; and detecting the test sound using a microphone proximate to each of the user's ears, and associating resulting measurement data with the predetermined test position, where the resulting measurement data derived from the detected test sounds is characteristic of the user's head morphology; for a corpus of reference individuals for whom respective HRTFs have been generated, comparing the measurement data from the user's audio test or a head-related transfer function ‘HRTF’ derived from this measurement data with corresponding measurement data of some or all respective reference individuals in the corpus or HRTF
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 15, 2021
    Publication date: April 21, 2022
    Applicant: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Marina Villanueva Barreiro, Danjeli Schembri, Calum Armstrong, Alexei Smith
  • Publication number: 20220011860
    Abstract: A data processing apparatus includes processing circuitry to generate at least one of video content and audio content for a virtual reality environment, input circuitry to receive gaze data for two or more users indicative of a gaze point for each user with respect to the virtual reality environment, and selection circuitry to select at least one object in the virtual reality environment in dependence upon a number of the gaze points corresponding to the object, in which the processing circuitry is configured to adapt at least one of the video content and the audio content in response to the selection of the object.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2021
    Publication date: January 13, 2022
    Applicant: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Fabio Cappello, Alexei Smith, Maria Chiara Monti