Patent Application
20110298885
The invention relates generally to the area of robotic devices that include interpersonal communication capability and specifically to robotic devices that include the capability to play high quality audio received from a remote location or generated locally.
Mobile robotic devices are currently available that provide services previously only provided by communications devices such as mobile phones dedicated to audio communication, video and/or audio conferencing applications such as mobile phones, audio and/or video conferencing systems and the like. Mobile robotic devices that include such communications applications are typically referred to as tele-presence or remote presence robotic systems. Remote presence robotic systems can be used for interpersonal communication; however, unlike audio and video conference systems, which are stationary devices, remote presence robots can be mobile and capable of following an individual as they move around their environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,218,992 describes, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 and the corresponding description in columns 2 and 3, a mobile robotic device that includes a camera 38, LCD display 40, a single speaker 44 and microphone 42 and the necessary audio and video processing and communication functionality to communicate over a network with a remote communication device.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/541,422 generally describes a mobile robotic device for interacting with an individual proximate to the device and with a remote communication device. With reference to FIG. 1A and the corresponding description on page 10 starting in paragraph [0103], the mobile robotic device is described as including a single speaker 20, microphone array 305, display 26 and functional systems for communications.
One important aspect of a communication session is the fidelity or the quality with which the remote audio is played by a local communication device. Audio and/or video conferencing systems can include expensive speaker systems with multiple speakers that cover the entire audible frequency range. Such high fidelity speaker systems are practical in tele or video conferencing system because the systems are not intended to be portable, so the speakers can be strategically placed in the environment to maximize the quality of the remote audio being played. On the other hand, mobile communication devices, such as smart phone for instance, typically do not have the capability to play high quality remote audio, as the speaker or speakers necessarily need to be small in order to fit within the form factor of a mobile communications device. Typically, high quality audio speaker systems employ separate speakers specifically designed to play different portions of the audio frequency spectrum. So for instance, one speaker in an audio system can be used to play the bass range, which can start at 100 Hz and run to 2 KHz, and another speaker can be used to play either or both of mid-range and hi-range frequencies which can start at 1 KHz and run up past 16 KHz.
An important consideration when designing audio and/or video conferencing systems is the placement of the speakers with respect to the system microphones. Due to the relatively higher sound energy levels associated with bass frequencies and the need to minimize feedback into the microphones, speakers that reproduce sound in the bass range need to be positioned at a greater distance from the microphones than the speakers that reproduce mid-range and hi-frequency audio.
Remote presence robotic devices are typically designed to accommodate the interaction between two remote individuals. The individuals can be sitting or standing or moving around in their environment. Regardless, in order to accommodate high quality communication sessions between remote individuals, these robotic devices are typically designed so that they are vertically elongated or their vertical dimension is larger than their horizontal dimension, with the vertical dimension being large enough such that the microphones, display and speakers can be positioned on the robotic device 10 for optimal interaction with the individual using the robotic device for communications. The vertical dimension is typically large enough so that the voice of the individual is easily detected by the microphones on the robot and so that the individual using the robot can comfortably observe or touch a display included on the robot. In general, a remote presence robotic device is designed to optimize the quality of the interpersonal communications experience.
Typically, the speaker or speakers included in remote presence robotic devices are full-range speakers and are positioned on the robotic device to minimize any audio feedback to the microphones. So for instance, if the microphones are located in the upper portion of the robotic device, the speaker(s) are located towards the middle or lower portion of the robotic device and vice versa. Also, depending upon the weight of the robotic device and its center of gravity, it is not prudent to place a relatively heavy bass speaker toward the upper portion of the device, as this can result in instability while the robotic device is moving around its environment.
It was discovered that a remote presence robotic device providing a hi-quality interpersonal communication experience can be designed with a display, microphones and mid-range to hi-range speakers located in the upper portion of the device and with a bass range speaker located below the upper portion of the device such that substantially all of the sound played by the speakers appears to come from the upper portion of the robotic device. Further, the inclusion of a separate bass range speaker on the robotic device results in a higher quality audio communications session and the position of the relatively heavier bass range speaker in the lower portion of the robotic device tends to lower the center of gravity of the device thereby making it more stable during movement. Further, it was discovered that equalizing the sound energy between the bass and mid-range and hi-frequency speakers mitigates the audio feed back into the microphones and results in the sound played by the robotic device speakers to appear as though it comes from the upper portion of the device.
The remote presence robotic device 10 of
The camera 12 mounted on the robotic device 10 of
The vertical dimension of the body 11 is greater than the horizontal dimension of the body 11, such that the robotic device 10 exhibits an upright as opposed to reclining appearance. The vertical dimension is large enough so that an individual, local to the robotic device 10, can use the device to effectively communicate with a remote individual who may or may not also be using a similar device and the horizontal dimension is small enough to permit the device 10 to easily move around in its environment. Effective communication in this case means that the camera 12 is positioned high enough on the robotic device 10 so that the far end video or image does not give the viewer of these images the appearance that the robotic device 10 is looking up at an extreme angle (i.e., at an angle that is not comfortable for an individual to elevate their head in order to converse with someone), that the microphones are close enough to the sound source to receive a strong audio signal, that the display is high enough for the individual at the near end to comfortable view images on the screen, and that the mid-range/tweeter combination speakers are close enough to the display so that is appears that the sound is coming from the display 16 located in the upper portion of the robotic device 10.
In operation, an individual proximate to the robotic device 10 can initiate and participate in a communication session, with a remote individual, while moving around their environment. Either the robotic device 10 is capable of autonomously following the individual around or the remote individual participating in the communication session can control the robotic device to follow the individual around, in either case the communication session, whether it is only audio or both audio and video, is very natural and of very high audio quality. In addition to positioning the mid-range/bass speaker in the lower portion of the robotic device 10 to improve the fidelity of the audio, another consideration when positioning the bass speaker 15 on the body 11 of the robotic device 10, is to maximize the distance between the bass speaker 15 and the microphone(s). Sound energy in the mid-range/bass frequency range is of higher energy than sound in the mid-range or tweeter ranges and so there is more acoustic coupling between the microphones and the sound played by the speakers in this range than there is with the sound played by the speakers in the higher frequency ranges. Although the robotic device 10 does include audio processing functionality that can suppress or cancel this acoustic feedback, positioning the speaker 15 in the lower portion of the robotic device 10 such that it is close to the surface over which the device travels maximizes the effect of the bass frequencies for the listener while preventing the suppression and echo cancellation functionality from being overwhelmed. Yet another consideration for positioning the mid-range/bass speaker in the lower portion of the robotic device 10 is that of weight distribution for the stability of the device 10. Bass speakers tend to be heavy and placing the bass speaker in the base of the lower portion of the robotic device 10 gives the device a lower center of gravity which results in more stability particularly when the device is moving around in its environment.
With further reference to
Continuing to refer to
The display 35 in
The forgoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specific nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that specific details are not required in order to practice the invention. Thus, the forgoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the invention are presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed; obviously, many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, they thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the following claims and their equivalents define the scope of the invention.
