Abstract: A hands-free intercom may include a user-tracking sensor, a directional microphone, a directional sound emitter, a display device, and/or a communication interface. The user-tracking sensor may determine a location of a user so the directional microphone can measure vocal emissions by the user and the directional sound emitter can deliver audio to the user. The hands-free intercom may provide privacy to the user. The hands-free intercom may prevent an eavesdropper from hearing the user's vocal emissions, for example, by canceling the vocal emissions at the eavesdropper's ear. The directional sound emitter may deliver out-of-phase sound to cancel the vocal emissions. The hands-free intercom may also, or instead, cancel ambient noise at the user's ear. The hands-free intercom may measure or predict a filtration of the sound to be canceled and compensate for the filtration when canceling the sound.

Abstract: A hands-free intercom may include a user-tracking sensor, a directional microphone, a directional sound emitter, a display device, and/or a communication interface. The user-tracking sensor may determine a location of a user so the directional microphone can measure vocal emissions by the user and the directional sound emitter can deliver audio to the user. The hands-free intercom may provide privacy to the user. The hands-free intercom may prevent an eavesdropper from hearing the user's vocal emissions, for example, by canceling the vocal emissions at the eavesdropper's ear. The directional sound emitter may deliver out-of-phase sound to cancel the vocal emissions. The hands-free intercom may also, or instead, cancel ambient noise at the user's ear. The hands-free intercom may measure or predict a filtration of the sound to be canceled and compensate for the filtration when canceling the sound.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides systems and methods for using two imaging modalities for imaging an object at two different resolutions. For example, the system may utilize a first modality (e.g., ultrasound or electromagnetic radiation) to generate image data at a first resolution. The system may then utilize the other modality to generate image data of portions of interest at a second resolution that is higher than the first resolution. In another embodiment, one imaging modality may be used to resolve an ambiguity, such as ghost images, in image data generated using another imaging modality.

Abstract: A hands-free intercom may include a user-tracking sensor, a directional microphone, a directional sound emitter, a display device, and/or a communication interface. The user-tracking sensor may determine a location of a user so the directional microphone can measure vocal emissions by the user and the directional sound emitter can deliver audio to the user. The hands-free intercom may induce the user to move to a desired location and/or to stay within a connectivity area. The hands-free intercom may also or instead induce the user to face in a desired orientation. The directional sound emitter and/or the display device may induce the user by explicitly indicating the desired location, by adjusting an apparent source of the audio or video, by changing quality of delivered audio or video based on user position, by producing irritating audio or video, and/or the like.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides systems and methods associated with determining velocity and/or acceleration information using ultrasound. A system may include one or more ultrasonic transmitters and/or receivers. An ultrasonic transmitter may be configured to transmit ultrasound into a region bounded by one or more surfaces. The ultrasonic receiver may detect a Doppler shift of reflected ultrasound to determine an acceleration and/or velocity associated with an object. The velocity and/or acceleration information may be utilized to modify the state of a gaming system, entertainment system, infotainment system, and/or other device. The velocity and/or acceleration date may be used in combination with a mapping or positioning system that generates positional data associated with the objects.

Abstract: A hands-free intercom may include a user-tracking sensor, a directional microphone, a directional sound emitter, and a communication interface. The user-tracking sensor may determine a location of a user so the directional microphone can measure vocal emissions by the user and the directional sound emitter can deliver audio to the user. The hands-free intercom may include a directional camera to capture video of the user and/or a directional video projector to deliver video to the user. The captured video may be provided to a remote entity and/or the delivered video may be received from the remote entity. The captured video may be used to identify vocal commands, gestures, facial expressions, and/or eye movements from the user. The projected video may be used to provide status information to the user.

Abstract: A hands-free intercom may include a user-tracking sensor, a directional microphone, a directional sound emitter, and a communication interface. The user-tracking sensor may determine a location of a user so the directional microphone can measure vocal emissions by the user and the directional sound emitter can deliver audio to the user. The hands-free intercom may determine whether the user is communicatively coupled via a mobile device to a remote entity. The hands-free intercom may be configured to receive a handoff of the communicative coupling, for example, by acting as a peripheral of the mobile device, by requesting the handoff, and/or the like. The hands-free intercom may be configured to deliver communications from the user to an appliance and vice versa. The hands-free intercom may manage access rights of the various entities to prevent unauthorized communications.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides systems and methods associated with determining position and/or movement information using ultrasound. A system may include one or more ultrasonic transmitters and/or receivers. An ultrasonic transmitter may be configured to transmit ultrasound into a region bounded by one or more surfaces. The ultrasonic receiver may receive direct ultrasonic reflections and/or rebounded ultrasonic reflections from one or more objects within the region. A mapping or positioning system may generate positional data associated with one or more of the object(s) based on the direct ultrasonic reflection(s) and/or the rebounded ultrasonic reflection(s). The mapping or positioning system may generate enhanced positional data by combining the direct positional data and the rebounded positional data.

Abstract: A hands-free intercom may include a user-tracking sensor, a directional microphone, a directional sound emitter, and a communication interface. The user-tracking sensor may determine a location of a user so the directional microphone can measure vocal emissions by the user and the directional sound emitter can deliver audio to the user. The directional sound emitter may emit ultrasonic waves configured to frequency convert to produce the audio. The communication interface may be configured to identify an entity of interest with which the user wishes to interact based on gestures and/or vocal emissions by the user and may automatically communicatively couple the user to the entity of interest. The hands-free intercom may determine whether remote entities requesting to communicatively couple with the user should be allowed to couple. The hands-free intercom may detect eavesdroppers and warn the user of the detected eavesdroppers.

Abstract: A hands-free intercom may include a user-tracking sensor, a directional microphone, a directional sound emitter, and a communication interface. The user-tracking sensor may determine a location of a user so the directional microphone can measure vocal emissions by the user and the directional sound emitter can deliver audio to the user. The directional sound emitter may emit ultrasonic waves configured to frequency convert to produce the audio. The communication interface may be configured to identify an entity of interest with which the user wishes to interact based on gestures and/or vocal emissions by the user and may automatically communicatively couple the user to the entity of interest. The hands-free intercom may determine whether remote entities requesting to communicatively couple with the user should be allowed to couple. The hands-free intercom may detect eavesdroppers and warn the user of the detected eavesdroppers.

Abstract: Technologies pertaining to provision of customized audio to each listener in a plurality of listeners are described herein. A sensor outputs data that is indicative of locations of multiple listeners in an environment. The data is processed to determine locations and orientations of the respective heads of the multiple listener in the environment. Based on the locations and orientations of heads of the listeners in the environment, for each listener, respective customized audio signals are generated. The customized audio signals are transmitted to respective beamforming transducers. The beamforming transducers directionally output customized beams for the first listener and the second listener based upon the customized audio signals and locations of the heads of the listeners.

Abstract: A privacy preserving sensor apparatus is described herein. The privacy preserving sensor apparatus includes a microphone that is configured to output a signal that is indicative of audio in an environment. The privacy preserving sensor apparatus further includes feature extraction circuitry integrated in the apparatus with the microphone, the feature extraction circuitry configured to extract features from the signal output by the microphone that are usable to detect occurrence of an event in the environment, wherein the signal output by the microphone is unable to be reconstructed based solely upon the features.

Abstract: Technologies pertaining to calibration of filters of an audio system are described herein. A mobile computing device is configured to compute values for respective filters, such as equalizer filters, and transmit the values to a receiver device in the audio system. The receiver device causes audio to be emitted from a speaker based upon the values for the filters.

Abstract: A structural or aesthetic construction element, such as a wall section, is described herein, wherein the construction element has embedded therein an array of microphones, an array of speakers, and processing electronics that drives the array of microphones and the array of speakers. Audio captured by the microphones can be used to estimate a sound field corresponding to the construction element. Speakers in the array of speakers are configured to directionally output audio, such that a desired sound field is produced or reproduced.

Abstract: Technologies pertaining to improving an auditory experience of a listener are described. Audio is modified based upon noise generated by noise sources in an environment. A microphone generates a signal that is representative of noise in the environment, and the signal is processed to identify peak frequencies therein. When a key frequency of the audio is proximate to a peak frequency in the noise, the audio is modified to improve the listener's perception of the audio.