Abstract: Systems and methods are provided in an autonomous vehicle for providing auditory guidance to a pedestrian. In one embodiment, a processor-implemented method in a vehicle for providing auditory guidance includes: identifying a desire to communicate with a pedestrian; determining a message to communicate to the pedestrian; calculating a travel path about which to make the pedestrian aware; positioning a directional acoustic device to project directional sound waves to a starting point of the travel path; modulating the message in the directional sound waves; and repositioning the directional acoustic device to project the directional sound waves with the modulated message along the travel path, wherein as the directional sound waves contact with a travel path surface the message is demodulated and a sound conveying the message appears to originate from and travel along the travel path.

Abstract: A system and method for determining an intended destination is disclosed. The method includes receiving, by a geolocation processor, a mobile device location. The mobile device location corresponds to a location of a mobile device of a vehicle user. The vehicle user has parked a vehicle at a parking location different than the mobile device location. The method also includes storing the parking location or the mobile device location as an intended destination of the vehicle user based at least on a determining of which of the parking location or the mobile device location corresponds to the intended destination of the vehicle user.

Abstract: A noise cancellation system for a vehicle includes a sensor configured to determine an imminent noise that will be perceivable in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, a noise identification module operable to identify at least one quality of the imminent noise, and a noise cancellation device operable to substantially attenuate the imminent noise as the imminent noise becomes a perceivable noise in the passenger compartment based on the at least one quality of the imminent noise.

Abstract: A system and method to perform an estimation of a location of an active speaker in real time includes designating a microphone of an array of microphones as a reference microphone. The method includes storing a relative transfer function (RTF) for each microphone of the array of microphones other than the reference microphone associated with each potential location among potential locations as a set of stored RTFs, and obtaining a voice sample of the active speaker and obtaining a speaker RTF for each microphone of the array of microphones other than the reference microphone. The method also includes performing an RTF projection of the speaker RTF for each microphone on the set of stored RTFs, and determining one of the potential locations as the location of the active speaker based on the performing the RTF projection.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided for controlling noise in a cabin of a vehicle. In various embodiments, a method for controlling noise in a cabin of a vehicle includes measuring a first sound via a microphone in the cabin; obtaining a second sound from a loudspeaker of the cabin; estimating, via a processor, a third sound at a virtual location that is remote from both the microphone and the loudspeaker, using the first sound, the second sound, and one or more transfer functions; and applying active noise cancellation for the cabin based on the third sound at the virtual location.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided for controlling noise in a cabin of a vehicle. In various embodiments, a method for controlling noise in a cabin of a vehicle includes measuring a first sound via a microphone in the cabin; obtaining a second sound from a loudspeaker of the cabin; estimating, via a processor, a third sound at a virtual location that is remote from both the microphone and the loudspeaker, using the first sound, the second sound, and one or more transfer functions; and applying active noise cancellation for the cabin based on the third sound at the virtual location.

Abstract: A system and method for determining an intended destination is disclosed. The method includes receiving, by a geolocation processor, a mobile device location. The mobile device location corresponds to a location of a mobile device of a vehicle user. The vehicle user has parked a vehicle at a parking location different than the mobile device location. The method also includes storing the parking location or the mobile device location as an intended destination of the vehicle user based at least on a determining of which of the parking location or the mobile device location corresponds to the intended destination of the vehicle user.

Abstract: An acoustic zoning system for a vehicle includes one or more speakers mounted in the vehicle, and a zoning control module that establishing one or more smartphone usage zones in the vehicle. The zoning control module includes a smartphone detection module operable to detect an audible interaction with a smartphone of at least one of a plurality of occupants of the vehicle, and a speaker control module operable to control at least one of the one or more speakers to substantially acoustically isolate the one of the plurality of occupants from another of the plurality of occupants of the vehicle.

Abstract: A noise cancellation system for a vehicle includes a sensor configured to determine an imminent noise that will be perceivable in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, a noise identification module operable to identify at least one quality of the imminent noise, and a noise cancellation device operable to substantially attenuate the imminent noise as the imminent noise becomes a perceivable noise in the passenger compartment based on the at least one quality of the imminent noise.

Abstract: Technical solutions are described for acoustic echo cancellation. An example method includes computing, by a beamformer, a plurality of updated beamformer filter coefficients, the beamformer filter coefficients computed adaptively to determine a speech signal from a plurality of input audio signals. Further, the method includes computing, by a transfer function estimator, a relative transfer function based on the updated beamformer filter coefficients and a plurality of present acoustic echo canceller coefficients. Further, the method includes adjusting a plurality of acoustic echo canceller coefficients using the relative transfer function, and generating an output speech signal, by the acoustic echo canceller, by cancelling echo components from the speech signal using the adjusted filter coefficients. Further, the method includes sending, by the acoustic echo canceller, the output speech signal to a far end speech device.

Abstract: A system and method to perform an estimation of a location of an active speaker in real time includes designating a microphone of an array of microphones as a reference microphone. The method includes storing a relative transfer function (RTF) for each microphone of the array of microphones other than the reference microphone associated with each potential location among potential locations as a set of stored RTFs, and obtaining a voice sample of the active speaker and obtaining a speaker RTF for each microphone of the array of microphones other than the reference microphone. The method also includes performing an RTF projection of the speaker RTF for each microphone on the set of stored RTFs, and determining one of the potential locations as the location of the active speaker based on the performing the RTF projection.

Abstract: A system, for implementation at a vehicle of transportation, having multiple arrangements of occupant-zone-specific acoustic equipment in the vehicle. Each arrangement is positioned at a respective occupant-specific acoustic zone of the vehicle. Each arrangement is configured to communicate with a hardware-based processing unit that, when executing code of a hardware-based storage device in operation of the system, interacts, via the arrangement, primarily only with a vehicle occupant occupying a corresponding occupant-specific acoustic zone. In some implementations, along with or instead of the acoustic equipment, the system includes multiple arrangements of occupant-zone-specific acoustic equipment in the vehicle. In various embodiments, based on identification of occupants at respective vehicle zones in operation of the vehicle, operations are performed, such as provision of media, vehicle-occupant conversation, and customized HVAC delivery.

Abstract: A system and method for controlling noise originating from a source external to a vehicle is disclosed. The method includes determining, by an active noise controller of a vehicle, characteristics of an unwanted noise. The unwanted noise originates from a source external to the vehicle. The method also includes determining an inverted noise based on the characteristics of the unwanted noise. The method also includes projecting the inverted noise. The projected inverted noise destructively interferes with the unwanted noise. The method also includes receiving a residual noise via an error microphone. The error microphone is configured to generate a signal based on the received residual noise.

Abstract: A system for identifying a location of a vehicle user following a collision event and a method of using the system that includes the steps of: receiving an indication of the vehicle collision event at a backend system, wherein the indication is displayed as a graphical user interface; receiving a command at the backend system using the graphical user interface, wherein the command is associated with identifying the location of the vehicle user at a vehicle; and transmitting the command to the vehicle for the vehicle to carry out the command.

Abstract: A system, for determining autonomous-driving-vehicle actions associated with a group of autonomous-driving-vehicle passengers. The system includes an input-interface module that, when executed by a processing unit, obtains, from at least a first autonomous-driving-vehicle passenger of the group of autonomous-driving-vehicle passengers, an autonomous-vehicle-passenger input relating to the group. The system also includes at least one collaboration module. Example collaboration modules include an extra-vehicle-collaboration module that, when executed by the processing unit, determines, based on the autonomous-vehicle-passenger input, an extra-vehicle function to be performed at least in part outside of the vehicle. Another example collaboration module is an intra-vehicle-collaboration module that, when executed by the processing unit, determines, based on the autonomous-vehicle-passenger input, an intra-vehicle function to be performed at the vehicle.

Abstract: A system, for implementation at a vehicle of transportation, having multiple arrangements of occupant-zone-specific acoustic equipment in the vehicle. Each arrangement is positioned at a respective occupant-specific acoustic zone of the vehicle. Each arrangement is configured to communicate with a hardware-based processing unit that, when executing code of a hardware-based storage device in operation of the system, interacts, via the arrangement, primarily only with a vehicle occupant occupying a corresponding occupant-specific acoustic zone. In some implementations, along with or instead of the acoustic equipment, the system includes multiple arrangements of occupant-zone-specific acoustic equipment in the vehicle. In various embodiments, based on identification of occupants at respective vehicle zones in operation of the vehicle, operations are performed, such as provision of media, vehicle-occupant conversation, and customized HVAC delivery.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for processing speech for a vehicle having at least one autonomous vehicle system. In one embodiment, a method includes: receiving, by a processor, context data generated by an autonomous vehicle system; receiving, by a processor, a speech utterance from a user interacting with the vehicle; processing, by a processor, the speech utterance based on the context data; and selectively communicating, by a processor, at least one of a dialog prompt to the user and a control action to the autonomous vehicle system based on the context data.

Abstract: Systems and processes for implementation at an autonomous-driving vehicle of transportation. exemplary processes include obtaining, by a tangible human-machine interface, an autonomous-vehicle-passenger communication, and obtaining, by a hardware-based processing unit, context data comprising learned-passenger data based on prior activity of an autonomous-vehicle-passenger. Processes also include determining, based on the autonomous-vehicle-passenger communication and the context data, at least one of (i) an appropriate autonomous-driving function, (ii) appropriate assistance to provide to the autonomous-vehicle-passenger, and (iii) appropriate information to provide to the autonomous-vehicle-passenger.

Abstract: A system for identifying a location of a vehicle user following a collision event and a method of using the system that includes the steps of: receiving an indication of the vehicle collision event at a backend system, wherein the indication is displayed as a graphical user interface; receiving a command at the backend system using the graphical user interface, wherein the command is associated with identifying the location of the vehicle user at a vehicle; and transmitting the command to the vehicle for the vehicle to carry out the command.

Abstract: A system and method of controlling machine-generated speech in a vehicle includes: receiving a machine-generated voice selection from a vehicle occupant; accessing the machine-generated voice at the vehicle based on the selection; converting text to speech based on the machine-generated voice; and generating the speech through a vehicle audio system using the machine-generated voice selection.