EP2255359B1 - Device and method for acoustic indication - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for acoustically displaying a position of an object in a playback room. Exemplary embodiments include in particular acoustic displays for use on ships.

On the bridge or in the machine control center of medium and large ships are often many visual displays (eg of sensors), which monitor the one hand, the technology of the ship and on the other hand, information about the environment above and below water and in particular over obstacles deliver. For control of the ship are therefore usually several people on the bridge or on the control room. As the number of reporting sensors increases, it becomes more and more important to generate distinct signals, for example distinguishing between warnings and cues. In addition to the visual display in particular an acoustic message is desirable. While rarely occurring messages can be supported by means of voice output, the message is frequently occurring messages, such as. As radars or echosounders, much more complex. A state of the art in automotive engineering would be distance sensors that emit beeps of variable frequency. For example, the frequency may be variable with decreasing distance when approaching an obstacle. For ships, this is not sufficiently meaningful because moving obstacles are in any direction and can move.

The DE 101 55 742 A1 discloses an apparatus and method for generating spatially located warning and information signals. Here, in addition to the acoustic warning and information signals visual signals emitted, wherein the respective acoustic and visual signal sources are mounted in a specific for the respective warning or information position. Thus, a conventional stereo system of a vehicle is adapted as a "virtual reality" system. Furthermore, a moving sound source is simulated realistically, the emitted information being varied in connection with the movement of the virtual sound source (eg imitation of the Doppler effect simulating an approaching siren of an emergency vehicle or intensifying the volume at the approach of a dangerous object). A further advantageous use of this technique results from its integration into a lane recognition system. Here, a vehicle driver before the agreement of a lane by a warning signal (for example Nagelbandrattern) be warned by from the direction of the place at which the vehicle threatens to leave the roadway, a warning signal is played.

The US Pat. No. 6,097,285 discloses an apparatus for emitting acoustic signals in a vehicle compartment for notifying a driver of a vehicle of the presence of objects at predetermined locations around the vehicle. The driver is alerted to the presence of objects in predetermined detection zones around the vehicle by the presence of various audible sounds corresponding to each detection zone. Thus, an object present in a detection zone is caused to produce a unique, audibly different sound within the cabin to alert the driver of the presence of the particular object.

Based on this prior art, the present invention has the object to obtain a device or a method for the acoustic display of a position of an object.

This object is achieved by an acoustic display device according to claim 1, an apparatus for scanning an environment according to claim 11, a method for acoustic display according to claim 13 or a computer program according to claim 14.

The core idea of the present invention is that a plurality of loudspeakers is spatially arranged so differently in a reproduction room that different positions can be acoustically represented by different activation of the loudspeakers. In particular, a signal allocation device is designed to assign an acoustic signal to the object, and a loudspeaker drive device is designed to determine one or more loudspeaker signals for the multiplicity of loudspeakers. The one or more loudspeaker signals are arranged to indicate the position of the object, wherein the one or more loudspeaker signals are based on the acoustic signal associated with the object by the signal assigning means. The one or more loudspeaker signals are determined such that upon playback of the one or more loudspeaker signals, the position of the object in the playback room is displayed acoustically.

Embodiments of the present invention also relate to how sensor signals can be displayed more easily by means of intelligent acoustic displays and thus both the security can be improved and the running costs can be reduced. Another idea of the present invention is based on the fact that an essential part of the information in many detectors is a location. As a detector, for example, a radar, a depth sounder, nautical charts or weather maps come into consideration and the location refers to, for example, a direction as well as a distance to the object. To report or display the direction and the distance, for example, by means of several speakers a sound field generated, which encodes as precisely as possible this information in a natural way.

The core idea of the present invention is that a plurality of loudspeakers is spatially arranged so differently in a reproduction room that different positions can be acoustically represented by different activation of the loudspeakers. In particular, a signal allocation device is designed to assign an acoustic signal to the object, and a loudspeaker drive device is designed to determine one or more loudspeaker signals for the multiplicity of loudspeakers. The one or more loudspeaker signals are arranged to indicate the position of the object, wherein the one or more loudspeaker signals are based on the acoustic signal associated with the object by the signal assigning means. The one or more loudspeaker signals are determined such that upon playback of the one or more loudspeaker signals, the position of the object in the playback room is displayed acoustically.

Embodiments of the present invention also relate to how sensor signals can be displayed more easily by means of intelligent acoustic displays and thus both the security can be improved and the running costs can be reduced. Another idea of the present invention is based on the fact that an essential part of the information in many detectors is a location. As a detector, for example, a radar, a depth sounder, nautical charts or weather maps come into consideration and the location refers to, for example, a direction as well as a distance to the object. To report or display the direction and the distance, a sound field is generated, for example by means of several speakers, which encodes this information as precisely as possible in a natural way.

In conjunction with the previously used optical displays of radar and echosounder, it makes sense to augment only the most important or important objects in the acoustic representation of the environment. These are objects that approach, for example, or whose course crosses the course of the ship, so there is a risk of collision.

Based on spatial audio playback systems in the entertainment area and in the area of virtual reality, it is possible to make the walls virtually disappear even in small rooms, so that the position of an object (distance and direction) can be heard precisely even outside the playback room.

1. (i) Wellenfeldsynthese (WFS): bei diesem System befinden sich die Lautsprecher beispielsweise in einem konstanten Abstand und die Berechnung der einzelnen Signale für die Lautsprecher erfolgt nach den bekannten WFS-Algorithmen. Objekte aus einem Radarsignal werden dabei als akustische Objekte in entsprechender Richtung und Entfernung wiedergegeben. Die Objekte erscheinen somit als virtuelle Schallquellen und können durch einen Hörer lokalisiert werden. Alle Personen auf der Brücke können dabei beispielsweise die Objekte am gleichen Ort wahrnehmen. Möglich ist auch, dass nicht nur ein einzelnes Objekt, sondern dass auch mehrere Objekte gleichzeitig akustisch dargestellt werden, wobei jedem Objekt beispielsweise ein anderes oder optional auch ein gleiches akustisches Signal zugeordnet werden kann.
2. (ii) Zeit- und Amplitudenpanning (ZAP): bei diesem Verfahren wird ein akustisches Schallsignal in der Amplitude und Phase für die einzelnen Lautsprecher derart geändert, dass das akustische Signal aus einer bestimmten Richtung und in einer bestimmten Entfernung erscheint. Es ist bei diesem System möglich, einen größeren bzw. unterschiedliche Abstände zwischen den Lautsprechern zu erlauben. Diese Methode hat gegenüber der WSF den Vorteil, dass weniger Lautsprecher erforderlich sind, aber den Nachteil, dass der akustische Ort einer Schallquelle weniger präzise wahrgenommen wird. Eventuell kann der wahrgenommene Ort der Schallquelle auch etwas von dem Ort der hörenden Person abhängen.

When controlling the speakers, there are basically two options:

1. (i) Wave Field Synthesis (WFS): in this system, for example, the speakers are at a constant distance and the individual signals for the loudspeakers are calculated according to the well-known WFS algorithms. Objects from a radar signal are reproduced as acoustic objects in the corresponding direction and distance. The objects thus appear as virtual sound sources and can be localized by a listener. For example, all persons on the bridge can perceive the objects in the same place. It is also possible that not only a single object but also several objects are displayed acoustically at the same time, wherein each object, for example, another or optionally also a same acoustic signal can be assigned.
2. (ii) Time and Amplitude Panning (ZAP): In this method, an acoustic sound signal becomes amplitude and phase for the individual speakers changed so that the acoustic signal from a certain direction and at a certain distance appears. It is possible with this system to allow a larger or different distances between the speakers. This method has the advantage over the WSF of requiring less loudspeakers, but the disadvantage of perceiving the acoustic location of a sound source less precisely. Eventually, the perceived location of the sound source may also depend somewhat on the location of the person listening.

To acoustically represent a radar signal, it is first processed acoustically. The workup includes on the one hand the detection of moving objects, such as ships and aircraft, and also the detection of static objects, such as the coastline, buoys or islands. For objects that contain a transponder and identify themselves with a text (text message or general data), the audio signal can optionally be converted into an audio signal by means of a text-to-speech identification, so that the text signal of the transponder becomes audible. Such objects are z. B. determines buoys or beacons, whose identifying information appear, for example, on the radar as text.

Objects can still be classified according to their hazard potential. For example, objects that come closer (from the front or faster from the back) or cross the ship's path of movement may be classified as more dangerous than objects that run parallel to the ship or are moving away from the ship. Objects that are farther away are generally considered less dangerous than those that are near or approaching at a high relative speed. Depending on the risk can thus be assigned to the objects a different identifier tone, with the identification tone for example in pitch or in the pulse repetition frequency and increase as the danger increases. Thus, a higher tone may mean greater danger or increasing volume may imply an increasing danger. Similarly, a faster beating clock pulse may mean a rising or a higher hazard than a lower clock pulse (for example, if the signature sound is represented as a rhythmic clock pulse).

The audio signals of the objects thus generated are then reproduced, for example, by the above-mentioned WFS or ZAP, whereby automatically far distant objects become quieter.

In other embodiments, in particular environments, such as shipping lanes, non-hazardous objects are completely blanked out (not shown) so as not to overload the helmsman or the listener with too much information.

Further, in embodiments, the replay location may appear at the same distance as the actual distance, ie, if the object is one kilometer away by radar, the audio object is perceptible at one kilometer distance (1: 1 mapping). Alternatively, the playback location is scaled accordingly so that, for example, a 1: 100 mapping is made and an object one kilometer away is acoustically perceptible or reproduced by an acoustic signal (virtual sound source) approximately ten meters away. For example, the former (the 1: 1 image) has the advantage that no parallax errors occur in the WFS, so that the distance of the object is coded only by the volume and not by the curved waveform. Very distant objects, however, would only be audible very late due to the speed of sound, and furthermore, in a 1: 1 representation, very distant objects are hardly distinguishable by distance.

Exemplary embodiments thus pursue the goal of coding objects with audio signals, so that they can be located as well as possible. To achieve this, the audio signals should be sufficiently broadband, for example, because a sine wave is difficult to perceive. Accordingly, narrowband noise or speech should be used to identify objects, not sinusoidal ones. In order to be able to reproduce a high number of objects in dense environments, such as, for example, shipping lanes, and in addition to be able to perceive acoustically, pulsed signals are emitted instead of continuous signals (eg a continuous tone). The pulse rate can rise similarly to parking sensors in cars with increasing risk. In order to allow for permanent use, the audio signals should sound pleasant when the danger is sufficiently low. The danger threshold, above which there is a serious danger or below which there is no risk or hardly any danger, is set variably in accordance with the circumstances, for example. The danger threshold can optionally also be adapted by the user. For example, the size and speed of a ship or the speeds of the other objects play a role. The threshold value can be determined, for example, from the ratio of the time duration to a predicted collision to a braking time of the ship.

The pleasant sound of the audio signals can be achieved, for example, by using a low center frequency of the narrowband noise or a low pulse frequency (rare representation) for unidentified objects (eg objects that pose no danger). Alternatively, a spectral hue of narrowband noise can be used where high frequencies have less energy than deep (cut with pink noise bandpass). For identified objects, this is done Rarely reporting reached, eg. B. at first contact to then send only a minute away a new signal.

The reporting signal may optionally be selected to be precisely located and distinguishable from ambient noise. Moreover, it is advantageous if the reporting signal has a pleasant sound, so that even with long trips, the system is permanently accepted. An essential advantage of acoustic, spatially resolving displays is that, unlike optical displays, they can be used by one person simultaneously with the natural environment. The natural environment may include, for example, driving on sight or listening to ships and buoys. Thus, a so-called augmented reality can be generated.

Embodiments are particularly advantageous because they provide an important synergy effect between acoustic and visual display. Namely, the audible indication is always reported and perceived, whereby prioritization for danger may occur while the visual indication requires the attention of the personnel on the bridge. For example, a helmsman sees an object on the radar screen only when he looks at the radar screen. At the same time, however, he no longer looks out of the window and thus loses some of the information about what is happening in his immediate surroundings. Acoustic displays allow him to simultaneously use the information from the radar and the view from the window. Especially in the case of non-self-identifying objects, however, the experienced evaluator is able to classify an object from the radar image (eg as a ship, island or picture disturbance). Thus, in the interaction of the acoustic perception (there is an object) and the view on the radar screen to control an important synergy effect. For remote, self-identifying objects, the identification can be read at any time by looking at the radar screen.

Fig. 1

eine schematische Darstellung einer Vorrichtung zur akustischen Anzeige gemäß einem Ausführungsbeispiel der vorliegenden Erfindung;

Fig. 2

eine Darstellung eines erfindungsgemäßen Systems mit einem Sensor zur Bestimmung der Position eines Objekts;

Fig. 3a und 3b

Darstellungen von ortsabhängigen Signalen, um eine ansteigende Gefahr akustisch wahrzunehmen;

Fig. 4

ein Ausführungsbeispiel mit einer Vielzahl von Lautsprechern zur akustischen Darstellung von zwei getrennten Objekten;

Fig. 5

eine schematische Darstellung eines Wiedergaberaums mit einem WFS-Modul; und

Fig. 6

ein prinzipielles Blockschaltbild eines Wellenfeldsynthesesystems mit Wellenfeldsynthesemodulen und Lautsprecherarrays in einem Wiedergaberaum.

Embodiments of the present invention will be explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Show it:

Fig. 1

a schematic representation of an apparatus for acoustic display according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2

a representation of a system according to the invention with a sensor for determining the position of an object;

Fig. 3a and 3b

Representations of location-dependent signals to acoustically perceive an increasing danger;

Fig. 4

an embodiment with a plurality of speakers for the acoustic representation of two separate objects;

Fig. 5

a schematic representation of a playback room with a WFS module; and

Fig. 6

a schematic block diagram of a wave field synthesis system with wave field synthesis modules and speaker arrays in a playback room.

With regard to the following description, it should be noted that in the different embodiments, the same or equivalent functional elements have the same reference numerals and thus the description of these functional elements in the various, in the following illustrated embodiments are interchangeable.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation of an apparatus for acoustic display 100 having an input 105, above the position information of an object in the Device 100 can be entered. The device 100 further has outputs for a plurality of loudspeaker signals LS (eg for a first loudspeaker signal LS1, a second loudspeaker signal LS2, a third loudspeaker signal LS3, ..., an nth loudspeaker signal LSn). The input for the position information 105 is designed to signal objects with their position to a signal allocation device 110. The signal allocation device 110 is designed to assign an acoustic signal to the objects, wherein the signal allocation device 110 optionally accesses a signal database 140 in order to assign different signals to different objects, for example on the basis of their potential dangers. The respectively assigned signal may, for example, depend on whether the object is moving, if so at what speed, or if it is immovable.

Furthermore, the device 100 has a loudspeaker drive device 120, which receives from the signal allocation device 110 the position of the object and the acoustic signal in order to determine one or more loudspeaker signals LS for a multiplicity of loudspeakers and these via the outputs for the loudspeaker signals LS1,. .. to spend LSn. The loudspeaker driver 120 is configured to determine the one or more loudspeaker signals LS based on the acoustic signal assigned to the object. The determination is carried out in such a way that, when the one or more loudspeaker signals LS are reproduced, the position of the object in the reproduction room is indicated acoustically. A listener (or user) then takes the position (eg, distance and direction) of the object as a virtual sound source position.

As mentioned above, one embodiment relates to the reproduction of information of a radar device which determines positions of objects. In addition to or instead of the radar, information from, for example, other sources, such as echosounders, or other sensors are implemented in a similar manner. In this embodiment, which will be described in more detail below by way of example, loudspeakers on the bridge of the ship below windows (possibly also additionally above the windows) may be arranged on all walls. These loudspeakers, for example, can all be equipped with their own amplifiers or with A / D converters (analog-to-digital converters) and can also be individually controlled. It is particularly advantageous if the most complete possible enclosure of the staff is achieved on the bridge with speakers, for the civilian navigation a flat enclosure (circle) and for military applications, possibly a spatial enclosure (hemisphere) is useful or sought , The enclosure does not need to be complete, and smaller gaps in the enclosure, such as those provided by existing doors, would also be possible.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of a playback room 210 with three speakers 220a, 220b and 220c and a radar 230. The radar 230 is connected to the input 105 and provides position information about objects in a vicinity of the playback room 210. For example, the radar 230 is formed to the Position of the object 200 to the device 100 for acoustic display to pass. The three speakers 220a, 220b, 220c are also connected to the outputs for the loudspeaker signals LS of the acoustic display device 100. Concretely, a first speaker 220a is connected to the output for the first speaker signal LS1, a second speaker 220b is connected to the output for the second speaker signal LS2, and a third speaker 220c is connected to the output for the third speaker signal LS3.

The acoustic display device 100 evaluates the position information of the object 200 received from the radar 230 to generate three loudspeaker signals LS1, LS2, LS3 for the first, second and third loudspeakers 220a, 220b, 220c. The determination is made such that the position of the object 200 is audible to the listener in the playback room 210, which is at a position P, for example. For this purpose, first the device 100 determines an acoustic signal for the object 200 as a function of the position of the object 200. The position is determined by the distance d and the direction, which can be given for example by an angle α. Next, the apparatus 100 calculates loudspeaker signals LS for the first to third loudspeakers 220a to 220c. This may include, for example, scaling the signal level and delaying the signal so that the listener at position P perceives the object 200 according to its position. In the in the Fig. 2 For example, this may be done such that the third loudspeaker 220c provides the strongest signal, during which the first loudspeaker 220a provides only a small signal and the second loudspeaker 220b does not provide a signal.

That in the Fig. 2 shown radar 230 may further be coupled to a sonar device, which, for example, the underwater topography abskannt and signals any existing shoals, which are also acoustically displayed. To distinguish between different objects (over water, under water or land objects) as mentioned different acoustic signals can be assigned.

The Fig. 3a and 3b show possible variations of the acoustic signal as a function of the distance of the object and the associated danger potential.

In the Fig. 3a a dependency of a frequency f of the signal on the distance d of the object 200 is shown. As long as the object is sufficiently far away, there is little or no danger. However, if the object is too close If, for example, a critical distance d _c is _less than that, there is an increased danger which requires an increased attention of the helmsman. This transition from a safe to a dangerous state, for example, be signaled in a changing acoustic signal. For this purpose, for example, if the distance is above the critical distance d _c , the frequency f of the signal are close or only slightly above a fundamental frequency f ₀ , wherein the thus defined frequency range is perceived by the helmsman as safe. However, if the object reduces the distance so that it comes below the critical distance d _c , the frequency f of the acoustic signal can suddenly rise sharply, so that the increasing danger is signaled to the helmsman.

The increase in frequency can optionally also increase monotonously with decreasing distance of the object without causing a sudden change in the critical distance and a constantly increasing danger potential for the helmsman becomes perceptible.

The acoustic signal or the frequency f of the acoustic signal may include on the one hand, the audio frequency or else the clock frequency, for example, if the acoustic signal indicates a particular clock in a particular frequency (repetition rate of the clocks). Even with the clock signal can increase with decreasing distance, the clock frequency, so that acoustically an increasing risk potential for the helmsman is perceived.

Fig. 3b shows an embodiment in which the signal level S is shown as a function of time t. As time increases, in this embodiment, the distance between two adjacent clocks decreases, so that the clock frequency increases, so that an approaching object will signal. At the same time, the decreasing pitch can be combined by the fact that the signal pulses louder and / or the frequencies of the signal pulses are changed. The change of the signal may, for example, have a shift of the center frequency to higher frequencies, so that the increasing danger potential is also perceptible in the frequency level or audio frequency of the signal pulses. As in Fig. 3b At the same time, the amplitude or volume of the signal can increase as the potential dangers increase.

In general, it is advantageous if in a safe state, the acoustic signals are barely perceptible, so that the helmsman is not disturbed by the acoustic signals.

Fig. 4 11 shows an embodiment in which a plurality of loudspeakers 220, a first loudspeaker 220a,..., a fourth loudspeaker 220d,..., a ninth loudspeaker 220i,... have a twelfth loudspeaker 2201. The loudspeakers 220 are arranged around the position P of a listener so that the position of an object 200 or the direction of the object 200 becomes noticeable by the fact that only one loudspeaker is active. In this embodiment, the position of the active loudspeaker corresponds at the same time in the direction of the object 200. This is particularly advantageous when the position P in the reproduction room 210 is fixed.

For example, as in the Fig. 4 2, a first object 200a at a distance d1 and a second object 200b at a distance d2 from the point of view P are perceived by the fourth loudspeaker 220d generating a first sound signal S1 and the ninth loudspeaker 220i generating a second sound signal S2. The listener at the position P takes the first object 200a and the second object was then according to their positions. As an active speaker, for example, the speaker can be selected, which is the shortest distance to the connecting line between the respective object and the Position P has. That would be the fourth loudspeaker 220d for the first object 200a and the ninth loudspeaker 220i for the second object 200b. All other speakers are further away from the respective connection lines (measured as a vertical distance) and, for example, can not be active in this embodiment (do not generate a sound signal).

Alternatively, it is also possible for the respective adjacent loudspeakers, between which the connecting line between the first object 200a and the position P runs, to be active. In addition, other neighbors speakers may be active. This means that, for example, in further embodiments not only the fourth loudspeaker 220d is active, but at the same time the third loudspeaker 220c and / or the second loudspeaker 220b and / or the fifth loudspeaker 220e can also be active. However, if multiple speakers are simultaneously active to represent the position of one of the objects 200, the amplitude / phase should be selected such that for a listener at position P, the object 200 will be acoustically perceivable at its respective position. Acoustic perceptibility means that the object 200 is perceived as a virtual sound source, wherein the distance in addition to the volume can also be signaled by a different clock frequency or frequency (as in the example Fig. 3a, b was shown).

Fig. 5 shows an embodiment in which the speakers are arranged in the context of a wave field synthesis system, so that the device for acoustic display 100, a first loudspeaker array 221a, a second loudspeaker array 221b and a third loudspeaker array 221c drives. Each of the three loudspeaker arrays 221a, 221b, 221c has, for example, a multiplicity of loudspeakers which, for B. are at a predetermined spatial distance from each other and the device 100 is in that each loudspeaker in a respective array can be controlled individually, so that the three arrays, which may be arranged, for example, on the sidewalls of the reproduction room 210, synthesize a wave field which would produce an object 200 as a virtual sound source in the reproduction room 210. In this case, the device 100 can in turn be coupled to a radar device or a sonar device 230 which transmits the device 100 the position of the respective objects. The object itself does not need to be a sound source, but instead a sound signal is specifically assigned to the object. In this sense, therefore, the acoustic display differs according to embodiments of conventional audio playback systems.

The structure of a WFS system is generally very complex and based on wave field synthesis. Wave field synthesis is an audio reproduction method developed at the TU Delft for the spatial reproduction of complex audio scenes. In contrast to most existing audio reproduction techniques, the spatially correct rendering is not limited to a small area, but extends over a wide viewing area. WFS is based on a well-founded mathematical-physical basis, namely the principle of Huygens and the Kirchhoff-Helmholtz integral.

Typically, a WFS reproduction system consists of a large number of loudspeakers (so-called secondary sources). The loudspeaker signals are formed from delayed and scaled input signals. Since many audio objects (primary sources) are typically used in a WFS scene, many such operations are required to generate the loudspeaker signals. This requires the high computing power required for wave field synthesis.

In addition to the advantages mentioned above, WFS also offers the possibility of realistically mapping moving sources. This feature is used in many WFS systems and is for example for use in the cinema, virtual reality applications or live performances of great importance.

However, the playback of moving sources causes a number of characteristic errors that do not occur in the case of static sources. The signal processing of a WFS playback system has a significant influence on the playback quality.

A primary goal is the development of signal processing algorithms for the playback of moving sources using WFS. The real-time capability of the algorithms is an important condition. The most important criterion for evaluating the algorithms is the objective perceived audio quality.

As I said, WFS is a very expensive audio reproduction process in terms of processing resources. This is mainly due to the large number of speakers in a WFS setup and the often high number of virtual sources used in WFS scenes. For this reason, the efficiency of the algorithms to be developed is of paramount importance.

Wave field synthesis systems have the advantage, in comparison to conventional multi-speaker systems, that exact positioning becomes possible as a result and exact positioning can also be determined at different positions within the reproduction space 210.

In Fig. 6 1, a basic structure of a wave field synthesis system is shown and has a speaker array 221 placed with respect to a reproduction space 210. Specifically, this includes in Fig. 6 shown speaker array, which is a 360 ° array, four array sides 221a, 221b, 221c and 221d. If the playback room 210 z. B. a bridge on a ship, it is assumed that with respect to the conventions front / rear or right / left the pre-alignment of the ship is on the same side of the display room 210 where the sub-array 221c is located. In this case, the user who is at the so-called optimal point P in the reproduction room 210, for example, would look forward. The sub-array 221a would then be behind the user, while the sub-array 221d would be located to the left of the viewer, and the sub-array 221b would be located to the right of the user.

Each loudspeaker array 221 consists of a number of different individual loudspeakers 708, each of which is driven by its own loudspeaker signals LS, which are transmitted by a wave field synthesis module 710 via an in-line loudspeaker signal LS Fig. 6 only schematically shown data bus 712 are provided. The wave-field synthesis module 710 is configured to use the information about e.g. B. type and location of the speakers 708 with respect to the playback room 210, so of speaker information (LS information), and possibly with other data loudspeaker signals LS for the individual speakers to calculate 708, each of the audio data for virtual sources (= objects ), which are further associated with position information, are derived according to the known wave field synthesis algorithms. The position information is determined, for example, by a sensor for determining the position of objects (eg the radar) and provided to the wave field synthesis module via the input 105. The wave field synthesis module may also receive further inputs, such as information about the room acoustics of the playback room 210, etc.

In embodiments using WFS or ZAP to drive the loudspeakers, the signal allocator 110 is configured to associate acoustic signals to a plurality of objects 200, and the loudspeaker driver 120 is configured to generate component signals for each of the plurality of objects 200 Combine component signals to speaker signals LS, so that the plurality of objects 200 are acoustically perceptible at different positions. As described above, the various objects can appear or be perceived as virtual sources (sound sources) for the listeners.

Exemplary embodiments can be supplemented or modified, for example, as follows. Thus, in further embodiments also boundary conditions are considered in the ships. The boundary conditions include, for example, requirements for the frequency of the messages, possible positions of the loudspeakers, the required sound pressure level, the characterization of the noise (for example from the engine) and a specification of the control signals for the acoustic display.

Using a database, optimal message signals can then be generated taking into account typical spatial sounds on the ships.

In embodiments, the acoustic drive includes techniques such as binaural coding or the wave field synthesis described above. The different techniques are used on test rigs in ships (or one-to-one models of the bridge and / or the control room). For example, psychoacoustic experiments can provide clues.

Embodiments use reporting signals that are as well as possible to locate in the ship environment, but at the same time sound as pleasant as possible. In this case test setups in the laboratory or else a one-to-one model from the bridge and / or the control station or in vehicles as well as psychoacoustic experiments are useful.

Further embodiments also provide a connection of sensors and information, for example, from Radar, sounder and nautical charts are received, to the audible indicator. An essential part of the connection is the selection of the relevant objects, which should be displayed for example by means of acoustic display.

1. (a) Einsatz akustischer Displays in Schiffen;
2. (b) Anbindung von Radar, Echolot und Seekarten an akustische Displays;
3. (c) Anbindung von Wetterkarten an akustische Displays;
4. (d) Anbindung von Funkbojen an akustische Displays für Schiffe;
5. (e) Auswahl von Objekten nach Wichtigkeit, insbesondere bezüglich des Ortes und der relativen oder der absoluten Geschwindigkeit des Schiffes sowie der Objekte (Schiffe, Unterwasserhindernisse, etc.); und
6. (f) Auswahl wohlklingender Meldesignale.

By way of example, embodiments include the following aspects:

1. (a) use of acoustic displays in ships;
2. (b) connection of radar, depth sounder and nautical charts to acoustic displays;
3. (c) connection of weather maps to acoustic displays;
4. (d) connecting radio buoys to acoustic displays for ships;
5. (e) selecting objects according to importance, in particular with respect to the location and the relative or absolute speed of the ship as well as the objects (ships, underwater obstacles, etc.); and
6. (f) Selection of melodious message signals.

Finally, the described systems can also be applied in automobiles, i. Further embodiments also include corresponding driver assistance systems in the car. For example, vehicles approaching laterally (eg when changing lanes) can be signaled acoustically.

In one embodiment of the device 100, the signal allocation device 110 is designed to assign an acoustic signal to the object 200 even if the object 200 itself is not a sound source.

In one embodiment of the device 100, the signal allocation device 110 further has an input 105 which can be coupled to a sensor 230 for determining the position of the object 200, wherein the sensor 230 is configured to transmit the position of the object 200 to the signal allocation device 110. In particular, the sensor 230 has a radar or sonar.

In one embodiment of the device 100, the loudspeaker drive device 120 is designed to detect precisely one loudspeaker signal LS for exactly one loudspeaker 220d, wherein the loudspeaker 220d can be placed in the reproduction space 210 in the direction of the object 200. Optionally, exactly one loudspeaker signal LS drives exactly one other loudspeaker 220 when the object 200 changes position.

In one embodiment of the device 100, the signal allocation device 110 is designed to assign the object 200 an acoustic signal in a predetermined minimum bandwidth, so that the acoustic signal is clearly acoustically perceptible.

In particular, it should be noted that, depending on the circumstances, the inventive scheme can also be implemented in software. The implementation may be on a digital storage medium, in particular a floppy disk or a CD with electronically readable control signals, which may interact with a programmable computer system such that the corresponding method is executed. In general, the invention thus also consists in a computer program product with program code stored on a machine-readable carrier for carrying out the method according to the invention when the computer program product runs on a computer. In other words, the invention can thus be described as a computer program with a program code for carrying out the method be realized when the computer program runs on a computer.

Claims (14)

1. Device (100) for acoustic display of the positions of at least two different objects (200) in a reproduction space (210), at least three loudspeakers (220) being arranged at spatially different positions in the reproduction space (210) so that different spatial positions may be represented acoustically by driving the loudspeakers (220) differently, the device (100) for acoustic display comprising:

   signal associating means (110) configured to associate an acoustic signal with each of the objects (200) in dependence on the distance of the respective object (200) and on the danger potential associated therewith,

   wherein the signal associating means (110) additionally comprises an input (105) which may be coupled to a sensor (230) for determining the positions of the objects (200), and the sensor (230) is configured to transmit the position of the objects (200) to the signal associating means (110); and

   loudspeaker driving means (120) configured to establish one or several loudspeaker signals (LS) for the at least three loudspeakers (220),

   wherein the one or several loudspeaker signals (LS) by which the positions of the objects (200) are displayed are based on the acoustic signals associated with the objects (200) by the signal associating means (110), and wherein the one or several loudspeaker signals (LS) may be established such that upon reproduction of the one or several loudspeaker signals (LS), the positions of the objects (200) in the reproduction space (210) are displayed acoustically,

   the device (100) for acoustic display further comprising a signal database (140) connected to the signal associating means (110), the signal database (140) being configured to provide different acoustic signals for the objects (200), the associated acoustic signals depending on whether the respective object (200) is movable or static.
2. Device (100) in accordance with claim 1, wherein acoustic signals in the signal database (140) are classified in accordance with a danger potential, and the signal associating means (110) is configured to associate acoustic signals from different classes with different objects (200) in accordance with their potential dangers.
3. Device (100) in accordance with claim 2, wherein acoustic signals of a higher danger potential comprise a higher audio frequency or a higher clock frequency.
4. Device (100) in accordance with claim 2 or claim 3, wherein an acoustic signal of a high danger potential is associated with an object (200) at a smaller distance, and an acoustic signal of a smaller danger potential is associated with an object (200) at a greater distance.
5. Device (100) in accordance with one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of the objects (200) comprises a relative speed to the reproduction space (200), and wherein the associated acoustic signal is dependent on the relative speed.
6. Device (100) in accordance with one of the preceding claims, wherein the loudspeaker driving means (120) is configured to establish several loudspeaker signals (LS) for the multitude of loudspeakers (220), the multitude of loudspeakers (220) at least partly surrounding a position in the reproduction space (210) in one plane.
7. Device (100) in accordance with one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of the objects (200) identifies itself by a textual notification, the sensor (230) being configured to pass on the textual notification to the input (105), and the device (100) additionally comprising a text-to-speech module configured to convert the textual notification to an audio signal and to pass it on to the loudspeaker driving means (120).
8. Device (100) in accordance with one of the preceding claims, wherein the signal associating means (110) is configured to associate acoustic signals with several objects (200), and wherein the loudspeaker driving means (120) is configured to generate component signals for each of the several objects (200) and to combine the component signals to form loudspeaker signals (LS) so that the several objects (200) are acoustically perceivable at different positions.
9. Device (100) in accordance with one of the preceding claims, wherein the loudspeaker driving means (120) is configured to encode the distance (d) of the object (200) by an audio frequency or clock frequency such that the distance of the object (200) is perceivable at a predetermined scale.
10. Device (100) in accordance with one of the preceding claims, wherein the loudspeaker driving means (120) comprises a wave field synthesis system, the wave field synthesis system being configured to reproduce the acoustic signal associated with the object (200) as a virtual source.
11. Device for scanning an environment, comprising:

    a sensor (230) for determining positions of objects (200) in the environment; and

    a device (100) for acoustic display in accordance with one of claims 1 to 10 that is coupled to the sensor (230) and receives the positions of the objects (200) from the sensor (230).
12. Device in accordance with claim 12, wherein the sensor (230) comprises a radar or sonar.
13. Method for acoustic display of the positions of at least two different objects (200) in a reproduction space (210), at least three loudspeakers (220) being arranged at spatially different positions in the reproduction space (210) so that different positions may be represented acoustically by driving the loudspeakers (220) differently, comprising:

    associating different acoustic signals with the objects (200) in dependence on the distance of the respective object (200) and the danger potential associated therewith, wherein said associating of the different acoustic signals with the objects using a signal database (140) comprises associating the acoustic signals in dependence on whether the respective object (200) is movable or static; and establishing one or several loudspeaker signals (LS) for the at least three loudspeakers (220), wherein

    the one or several loudspeaker signals (LS) are established such that upon reproduction of the one or several loudspeaker signals (LS), the positions of the objects (200) in the reproduction space (210) are displayed acoustically.
14. Computer program comprising a program code for performing the method in accordance with claim 13 when the computer program runs on a computer.

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