{"schema_version":"1.0","canonical_url":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-9852548","patent":{"patent_number":"US-9852548","title":"Systems and methods for generating sound wavefronts in augmented or virtual reality systems","assignee":null,"inventors":[],"filing_date":"2015-05-07T00:00:00.000Z","publication_date":"2017-12-26T00:00:00.000Z","cpc_codes":["G06T","A63F","A63F","A63F","G06F","G06F","G06F","G06F","G06F","G06F","G06F","G06F","G06F","G06Q","G06T","G06T","G06T","G06T","G06T","G06T","G06T","G06V","G06V","G06V","G06V","H04S","G06T","G06T","G06T","G06T","H04S","H04S"],"num_claims":19,"abstract":"An augmented reality display system comprises a passable world model data comprises a set of map points corresponding to one or more objects of the real world. The augmented reality system also comprises a processor to communicate with one or more individual augmented reality display systems to pass a portion of the passable world model data to the one or more individual augmented reality display systems, wherein the piece of the passable world model data is passed based at least in part on respective locations corresponding to the one or more individual augmented reality display systems."},"analysis":{"summary":"The Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems patent introduces a revolutionary approach to creating truly immersive and spatially accurate audio experiences in AR/VR environments. At its core, this innovation addresses the significant challenge of making virtual sounds interact realistically with the user's physical surroundings, a common shortcoming in existing immersive technologies.\n\nThe core innovation is a system that leverages a 'passable world model' – a dynamic, digital representation of the real world, complete with map points corresponding to physical objects. This model provides the necessary environmental context for the system to understand how sound should propagate, reflect, and attenuate within the user's actual space. Rather than relying on simplified positional audio, this technology aims to generate complex sound wavefronts that mimic real-world acoustic physics.\n\nThe key technical approach involves a processor that communicates with individual augmented reality display systems. This processor intelligently passes only the relevant portions of the passable world model data to each AR device, specifically tailored to its respective location. This localized data transfer ensures efficiency and enables each user's device to render highly accurate, personalized sound wavefronts that align perfectly with their unique position and interaction with the environment.\n\nThis technology offers immense business value across various sectors. In entertainment, it promises unparalleled gaming and cinematic immersion. For professional training and simulation, it elevates realism, leading to more effective learning outcomes. Architectural and product visualization can benefit from realistic acoustic previews. The market opportunity is substantial, as spatial computing continues its rapid growth, demanding more convincing and interactive sensory experiences. This patent positions itself as a critical enabler for the next generation of AR/VR applications, offering a competitive advantage to developers and platforms that adopt its principles for superior auditory realism.","layman_explanation":"In the world of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), we've seen incredible advancements in visuals. Virtual objects can look stunningly real, and digital environments can be breathtaking. However, there's often a missing piece that prevents true immersion: the sound. While we can hear sounds coming from different directions in AR/VR, they rarely interact with our physical surroundings in a believable way. This patent, titled \"Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems,\" aims to fix that, making virtual sounds as convincing as the visuals.\n\n**1. What Problem Does This Solve?**\nImagine you're wearing an AR headset, and a virtual dog barks. You hear the bark, and it sounds like it's coming from the dog's direction. But what if the dog is behind your real-world couch? Or what if you're in a large, empty room and the dog barks – shouldn't there be an echo? In most current AR/VR systems, these subtle, yet crucial, acoustic interactions with your physical environment are missing. The sound often feels disconnected from reality, breaking the illusion. This 'auditory gap' reduces the sense of presence and makes immersive experiences feel less authentic. The problem is that existing solutions don't dynamically account for the real-world geometry and materials around you when rendering virtual sounds, leading to an unrealistic acoustic experience.\n\n**2. How Does It Work?**\nThis innovation tackles the problem by introducing a clever system that understands your physical space and uses that knowledge to generate incredibly realistic sound. Think of it like this: the AR system first builds a 'passable world model' – a highly detailed, constantly updated digital map of your actual room, including where your walls, furniture, and other objects are. It's like the system has its own internal blueprint of your environment.\n\nWhen a virtual sound needs to be played, the system doesn't just play a simple audio file. Instead, it uses this 'world model' to calculate how the sound waves would *physically* behave in your specific room. It figures out how sound would bounce off your walls, get absorbed by your carpet, or be muffled by a bookshelf. Then, it generates these 'sound wavefronts' – essentially, the actual patterns of sound energy – that mimic these real-world acoustic effects. This process is dynamic and location-aware: as you move around, the system updates its calculations in real-time to ensure the sound always matches your perspective and the changing environment. It's about simulating the physics of sound, not just playing a sound file.\n\n**3. Why Does This Matter?**\nThis technology matters because it unlocks a new level of immersion and realism for AR/VR applications. For businesses, this translates into significant opportunities. In **gaming and entertainment**, it means more captivating experiences that truly transport players. For **training and simulation**, such as in healthcare or defense, highly accurate spatial audio can dramatically improve the effectiveness of simulations, leading to better decision-making and skill development. Imagine a surgeon training with virtual instruments where the sounds of those instruments interacting with virtual tissue respond precisely to the physical environment of the operating room. In **architecture and design**, clients could 'walk through' virtual buildings and hear how the acoustics would feel before construction even begins. This provides a competitive edge by delivering a more convincing and valuable user experience.\n\n**4. What's Next?**\nLooking ahead, this patent lays a crucial foundation for the future of spatial computing. We can expect to see this technology integrated into next-generation AR/VR headsets and development platforms, becoming a standard for high-fidelity immersive audio. Its principles could also extend beyond sound, informing how other sensory inputs, like haptics or even thermal sensations, interact with a 'passable world model'. This innovation will drive increased adoption of AR/VR in enterprise and consumer markets, leading to more engaging products, more effective training tools, and a seamless blend of our digital and physical realities. For investors, this represents a key area of growth in the immersive technology space, promising a strong return on investment for companies that successfully leverage this advanced acoustic rendering capability.","technical_analysis":"The Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems patent describes a sophisticated distributed system designed to overcome the limitations of conventional spatial audio rendering in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) environments. The core technical objective is to generate physically accurate sound wavefronts that dynamically interact with both virtual and real-world geometries, thereby enhancing auditory immersion.\n\n**Technical Architecture:**\nThe system is fundamentally composed of a central processing unit (often server-side or cloud-based) and one or more individual augmented reality display systems (client-side devices like AR headsets). The central component maintains and processes a 'passable world model' data. This model is a comprehensive, continuously updated digital representation of the real world, comprising map points corresponding to physical objects, their geometries, and potentially their acoustic properties (e.g., absorption, reflection coefficients). This data is often generated via simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) techniques, depth sensors, and computer vision algorithms on the client devices, which then feed into the central model.\n\n**Implementation Details and Algorithm Specifics:**\nWhen an individual AR display system requires sound rendering, its current location and orientation are used by the central processor to identify and transmit a localized 'piece' of the passable world model data. This data transfer is crucial for efficiency, as only relevant environmental information for the user's immediate vicinity is sent, minimizing bandwidth and local processing load. On the client-side AR display system, a dedicated audio rendering engine utilizes this localized world model data to perform real-time acoustic simulations. This process moves beyond simple head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) or basic ray tracing.\n\nInstead, the system is designed to generate actual sound wavefronts. This likely involves advanced techniques such as wave field synthesis (WFS), higher-order ambisonics with real-time room impulse response (RIR) convolution, or sophisticated physics-based acoustic propagation models. The system calculates how sound waves would emanate from a virtual source, reflect off surfaces (both real and virtual), diffract around objects, and be absorbed by materials. The passable world model provides the geometric and material data necessary for these calculations. For instance, if a virtual sound source is behind a real-world wall, the system would use the wall's geometry and material properties from the passable world model to simulate realistic attenuation and possibly diffraction effects, rather than simply reducing volume or using a generic occlusion filter.\n\n**Integration Patterns and Performance Characteristics:**\nIntegration with AR display systems implies a tight coupling with their spatial tracking capabilities (SLAM, IMUs) to ensure accurate alignment between the user's perception, the passable world model, and the generated sound wavefronts. The real-time nature of AR demands low-latency processing. The distributed architecture, where the central processor manages the global world model and localized data distribution, offloads significant computational burden from the client devices. This allows for scalable solutions where complex acoustic environments can be rendered without overwhelming individual headsets. Performance is further optimized by only processing and transmitting portions of the world model relevant to the user's current field of hearing, similar to frustum culling in graphics rendering.\n\n**Code-Level Implications:**\nDevelopers implementing this technology would need robust libraries for geometric acoustic modeling, real-time RIR generation, and possibly wave propagation solvers. Integration with existing AR SDKs (e.g., ARKit, ARCore, OpenXR) would be critical for accessing device pose, environmental mesh data, and efficient audio output. The underlying algorithms would likely involve complex linear algebra, signal processing, and potentially GPU-accelerated computations for rapid wavefront synthesis. The system would require efficient data structures for the passable world model, capable of rapid spatial querying and updates, potentially utilizing octrees or k-d trees. Error handling for discrepancies between the perceived and modeled environment would also be a crucial consideration for maintaining immersion.","business_analysis":"The Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems patent represents a significant leap forward in immersive technology, holding substantial commercial potential across multiple industries. Its ability to generate physically accurate, environmentally-aware sound wavefronts addresses a critical unmet need in the rapidly expanding AR/VR market, which is projected to reach hundreds of billions of dollars in the coming years.\n\n**Market Opportunity Size:**\nThe global AR/VR market is experiencing exponential growth, driven by advancements in hardware, content, and enterprise adoption. While visual fidelity has been a primary focus, the auditory experience remains a key differentiator for true immersion. This patent targets a crucial segment within this market: high-fidelity spatial audio. Applications demanding superior realism—from professional simulations (medical, defense, industrial training) to premium entertainment (gaming, virtual concerts, interactive storytelling) and collaborative workspaces—will find this technology indispensable. The market for AR/VR audio solutions alone is a multi-billion dollar opportunity, with a strong demand for technologies that can bridge the 'reality gap'.\n\n**Competitive Advantages:**\nThis innovation offers several distinct competitive advantages. Firstly, it moves beyond the limitations of traditional binaural or positional audio, which often fail to account for complex environmental acoustics. By dynamically generating sound wavefronts based on a 'passable world model' of the physical environment, this system provides an unparalleled level of realism and immersion. This superior auditory experience can be a powerful differentiator for AR/VR platforms, content creators, and hardware manufacturers. Secondly, its distributed architecture and localized data passing mechanism ensure scalability and efficiency, allowing for complex acoustic rendering on diverse hardware without excessive computational overhead, which is a significant advantage over brute-force simulation methods.\n\n**Revenue Potential and Business Models:**\nRevenue streams for this technology could be diverse. Licensing the patented technology to AR/VR hardware manufacturers, game studios, and enterprise solution providers represents a primary model. Integration into AR/VR development kits (SDKs) as a premium feature or middleware could also generate substantial income through subscriptions or per-unit royalties. Furthermore, the creation of specialized acoustic simulation software or services based on this patent could cater to niche markets like architectural acoustics, urban planning, or product design. The enhanced realism enabled by this system could also drive higher user engagement and monetization for content creators, leading to revenue share opportunities.\n\n**Strategic Positioning:**\nCompanies adopting this technology can strategically position themselves at the forefront of immersive experience design. Hardware manufacturers can boast superior audio capabilities, while content developers can create more compelling and believable virtual worlds. For enterprise solutions, this patent can be marketed as a critical enabler for high-stakes training and collaborative environments where accuracy and realism are paramount. It allows for the creation of 'auditory digital twins' of physical spaces, opening up new possibilities for remote work, simulation, and real-time environmental analysis.\n\n**ROI Projections:**\nInvestment in this technology promises a strong return on investment through increased market share, enhanced brand reputation, and the ability to command premium pricing for products and services. For content creators, superior audio leads to higher user retention and satisfaction. For enterprises, more realistic simulations translate into better training outcomes, reduced operational risks, and potentially significant cost savings. Early adopters who integrate this advanced spatial audio solution will gain a significant competitive edge in the rapidly evolving AR/VR landscape, attracting both talent and capital.","faqs":[{"answer":"The Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems is a groundbreaking patent (US-9852548) that describes an advanced system for creating highly realistic and spatially accurate audio experiences in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) environments.\n\nUnlike traditional spatial audio which primarily focuses on directional sound, this invention aims to simulate the actual physical behavior of sound waves. It ensures that virtual sounds interact dynamically with the user's real-world surroundings, including reflections, occlusions, and reverberations.\n\nAt its core, this technology leverages a 'passable world model' – a digital representation of the user's physical environment – to inform how virtual sounds should propagate. This allows for an unprecedented level of auditory realism, making immersive experiences far more convincing and engaging. It's a fundamental shift in how AR/VR audio is conceived and rendered.","question":"What is Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems?"},{"answer":"The Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems operates through a sophisticated, distributed architecture. First, a central processor maintains a 'passable world model,' which is a continuously updated digital map of the user's physical environment, detailing the geometry and properties of real-world objects.\n\nWhen a user's individual augmented reality display system (e.g., an AR headset) requires audio, the central processor identifies the device's precise location and orientation. It then transmits only the relevant portions of this passable world model data to that specific AR device, optimizing efficiency and bandwidth.\n\nOn the client-side, the AR display system uses this localized environmental data to dynamically generate sound wavefronts. This involves complex calculations that simulate how sound waves would physically emanate from a virtual source, reflect off real-world surfaces, diffract around obstacles, and be absorbed by materials. The result is a real-time, personalized acoustic experience where virtual sounds behave precisely as they would in the user's physical space, significantly enhancing immersion. Key keywords: passable world model, real-time audio rendering, sound wavefront synthesis, distributed architecture, location-aware processing.","question":"How does Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems work?"},{"answer":"The Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems patent solves the critical problem of auditory disconnect in augmented and virtual reality. While AR/VR visuals have become incredibly sophisticated, the sound often falls short, failing to realistically interact with the user's physical environment.\n\nTraditional spatial audio methods can provide directionality, but they typically don't account for complex acoustic phenomena like realistic reflections, echoes, or the muffling effect of physical objects. This means a virtual sound might pass audibly through a real wall, or an explosion might lack the appropriate reverberation for a large room, breaking the user's sense of presence and immersion.\n\nThis innovation addresses this by enabling virtual sounds to behave physically plausibly within the real world. It makes virtual sounds responsive to the actual geometry and materials of the user's surroundings, creating a coherent and believable auditory experience that aligns perfectly with the visual and physical environment. Key keywords: auditory disconnect, AR/VR immersion, spatial audio limitations, real-time acoustics, environmental interaction.","question":"What problem does Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems solve?"},{"answer":"The patent Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems (US-9852548) does not list inventors in the provided data. Typically, patent filings include the names of the individuals who conceived the invention, often referred to as the inventors.\n\nWithout specific inventor names in the provided abstract, description, or claims data, it is not possible to identify the individual inventors directly. Assignees are often companies or organizations to whom the inventors have assigned their rights.\n\nFurther investigation into the official patent document on databases like the USPTO or Google Patents would be required to ascertain the names of the inventors associated with this specific technology. Key keywords: patent inventors, US-9852548, augmented reality patent, virtual reality sound invention.","question":"Who invented Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems?"},{"answer":"The key benefits of the Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems are numerous and impactful for immersive technology. Firstly, it provides **unparalleled auditory realism**, making virtual sounds behave as if they are truly present and interacting with the physical environment. This significantly enhances the user's sense of presence and immersion.\n\nSecondly, it offers **dynamic environmental adaptation**. The system continuously adjusts sound propagation based on real-time changes in the user's physical surroundings and their movement, ensuring a consistently believable acoustic experience. This is a major leap beyond static or pre-baked audio effects.\n\nThirdly, it enables **more effective training and simulation**. In professional contexts, accurate spatial audio cues can lead to better decision-making, improved situational awareness, and more efficient skill transfer. Finally, it fosters **deeper engagement** in entertainment and collaborative applications, making digital worlds feel more tangible and interactive. Key keywords: auditory realism, dynamic spatial audio, immersive benefits, AR/VR training, enhanced presence, sound wavefront advantages.","question":"What are the key benefits of Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems?"},{"answer":"The Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems significantly differentiates itself from prior art in immersive audio by moving from perceptual simulation to physics-based generation. Prior art, such as binaural audio using HRTFs, primarily focuses on simulating sound directionality but often fails to account for complex environmental acoustics like reflections, occlusions, and reverberations caused by real-world objects.\n\nThis invention's key distinction is its reliance on a 'passable world model'—a real-time, digital twin of the user's physical environment. Unlike systems that use static room models or generalized acoustic effects, this technology dynamically calculates how actual sound *wavefronts* would propagate and interact with the precise geometry and materials of the user's surroundings.\n\nThis means that virtual sounds in this system don't just come from a direction; they realistically bounce off your actual walls, get muffled by your physical furniture, and echo in your real room, creating a level of auditory realism and environmental coherence that previous technologies could not achieve. It's a fundamental shift towards making digital sound behave as physically as real sound. Key keywords: prior art comparison, spatial audio innovation, physics-based sound, passable world model, AR/VR audio differentiation, wavefront generation.","question":"How is Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems different from prior art?"},{"answer":"The Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems is poised to impact a wide range of industries that leverage immersive technologies. The **gaming and entertainment** sector will see a significant boost in immersion, creating more believable and engaging experiences for players and viewers.\n\n**Professional training and simulation** in fields such as healthcare, defense, manufacturing, and aerospace will be profoundly transformed. Highly accurate spatial audio cues will lead to more effective skill development, improved situational awareness, and safer training environments.\n\n**Architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC)** can benefit from acoustic visualization, allowing clients and designers to 'hear' how spaces will sound before they are built. **Remote collaboration and virtual workspaces** will become more intuitive and natural, as virtual voices and object sounds interact realistically within each participant's physical setting. This technology also has implications for **product design**, allowing for acoustic prototyping, and potentially for **accessibility solutions** in AR/VR. Key keywords: industry impact, AR/VR applications, immersive training, gaming, architectural visualization, virtual collaboration, spatial audio market.","question":"What industries will Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems impact?"},{"answer":"The patent for Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems, identified as US-9852548, has specific dates associated with its lifecycle.\n\nAccording to the patent data, the **Filing Date** for this patent was **2015-05-07**.\n\nThe **Publication Date** for this patent was **2017-12-26**.\n\nThese dates mark the beginning of its legal protection process and when the patent application became publicly accessible, respectively. The publication date is often when the patent is officially granted or published for public review. Key keywords: patent filing date, patent publication date, US-9852548, AR/VR patent history, patent timeline.","question":"When was Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems filed/granted?"},{"answer":"The commercial applications of Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems are extensive and highly valuable. In the **entertainment sector**, it can power next-generation games, interactive narratives, and virtual concerts, creating deeply immersive and engaging experiences that drive consumer adoption and content monetization.\n\nFor **enterprise solutions**, this technology is critical for high-fidelity professional simulations, leading to better training outcomes in fields like surgical training, pilot simulations, and complex machinery operation. This translates to reduced errors, improved safety, and significant cost savings for businesses. In **architectural and real estate visualization**, it allows for realistic acoustic previews of unbuilt spaces, enhancing client presentations and design validation.\n\nFurthermore, it can revolutionize **remote work and collaboration** by making virtual meetings and shared AR workspaces feel more natural and intuitive, improving communication and productivity. The patent can be licensed to AR/VR hardware manufacturers, content developers, and platform providers, generating diverse revenue streams through royalties, SDK integrations, and specialized software development. Key keywords: commercial applications, AR/VR business, patent monetization, enterprise AR/VR, gaming, training simulations, architectural acoustics.","question":"What are the commercial applications of Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems?"},{"answer":"Future developments for Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems are expected to push the boundaries of immersive realism even further. One key area is the **integration with advanced material science databases**, allowing the 'passable world model' to include even more precise acoustic properties for surfaces, leading to hyper-accurate reflections and absorption.\n\nWe can anticipate the use of **machine learning and AI** to predict sound behavior, optimize real-time calculations, and potentially even generate new acoustic effects that enhance immersion. This could include AI-driven sound design that adapts to user emotions or narrative context. Furthermore, the principles of this patent could expand into **multimodal sensory integration**.\n\nThe same 'passable world model' used for sound could inform haptic feedback (e.g., feeling vibrations from virtual objects through real surfaces) or even thermal cues, creating a truly unified and comprehensive digital twin of reality. Hardware advancements, such as dedicated audio processing units in AR/VR headsets, will also enable more complex wavefront synthesis on consumer devices, making this advanced technology more accessible. Key keywords: future AR/VR, spatial audio development, machine learning acoustics, multimodal immersion, passable world model evolution, hardware integration, immersive tech roadmap.","question":"What are the future developments expected for Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems?"}],"topics":["augmented reality audio","virtual reality sound","spatial audio","sound wavefronts","immersive technology","evolution","augmented","reality"],"tech_cluster":null},"seo":{"title":"AR/VR Sound Wavefronts - Patent US-9852548","description":"Discover the 'Systems and Methods for Generating Sound Wavefronts in Augmented or Virtual Reality Systems' patent. Revolutionizing AR/VR audio with real-time, environmentally-aware sound wavefront generation.","keywords":["augmented reality audio","virtual reality sound","spatial audio","sound wavefronts","immersive technology","AR/VR innovation","passable world model","real-time acoustic rendering","patent US-9852548","extended reality audio","physics-based sound","audio simulation","AR/VR immersion","US-9852548"]},"attribution":{"source":"Patentable","source_url":"https://patentable.app","canonical_url":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-9852548","license":"CC-BY-4.0-like","license_terms":"AI-generated analysis on this page (summary, layman_explanation, technical_analysis, business_analysis, faqs) may be reused with attribution and a visible link back to the canonical URL above. Patent abstracts, claims, and bibliographic data are USPTO public domain.","required_link":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-9852548","citation_suggestion":"Patentable. \"Systems and methods for generating sound wavefronts in augmented or virtual reality systems\" (US-9852548). https://patentable.app/patents/US-9852548","copyright_holder":"Nomic Interactive Technology LLC"},"links":{"html":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-9852548","json":"https://patentable.app/api/llm-context/US-9852548","site":"https://patentable.app","llms_txt":"https://patentable.app/llms.txt"},"generated_at":"2026-06-06T04:15:25.359Z"}