US 12,302,085 B2
Spatialized audio chat in a virtual metaverse
Hitesh Chhabra, Fremont, CA (US); Philippe Clavel, Belmont, CA (US); Plamen Dragozov, Redwood City, CA (US); Jason Lawrence Golubock, Davis, CA (US); Palmer Noel Hogen, Glendale, CA (US); Sandeep Kanumuri, Redmond, WA (US); Pavel Pavlov, Bishkek (KG); Slawomir Strumecki, Vancouver (CA); Joshua Ray Taylor, San Mateo, CA (US); and Frederick William Umminger, Oakland, CA (US)
Assigned to Roblox Corporation, San Mateo, CA (US)
Filed by Roblox Corporation, San Mateo, CA (US)
Filed on Jul. 15, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/865,440.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/222,304, filed on Jul. 15, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2023/0017111 A1, Jan. 19, 2023
Int. Cl. H04S 7/00 (2006.01); H04S 3/00 (2006.01)
CPC H04S 7/303 (2013.01) [H04S 3/008 (2013.01); H04S 2400/01 (2013.01); H04S 2400/11 (2013.01); H04S 2400/15 (2013.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A computer-implemented method of spatialized audio in a virtual metaverse, comprising:
receiving a request to receive audio associated with a metaverse place of the virtual metaverse from a first user of a plurality of users, wherein the first user is associated with a user device, and wherein each user of the plurality of users is associated with a respective avatar of a plurality of avatars in the metaverse place;
retrieving a data model associated with the metaverse place, wherein the data model includes one or more spatial parameters representative of one or more physical laws that apply to the metaverse place;
extracting avatar information and scene information from the data model, wherein the avatar information includes one or more of: position, velocity, or direction of the plurality of avatars in the metaverse place including a first avatar associated with the first user, and wherein the scene information includes one or more of: occlusions, reverberations, or virtual walls in virtual proximity to the first avatar in the metaverse place;
transforming respective audio streams received from each user of the plurality of users based on the avatar information and the scene information, and one or more audio characteristics of at least one of the respective audio streams based on the one or more spatial parameters to create spatialized audio streams;
determining a set of prioritized audio streams received from each user of the plurality of users, wherein transforming the respective audio streams further comprises transforming the set of prioritized audio streams to create the spatialized audio streams, wherein audio streams associated with avatars that are moving towards a receiving avatar are prioritized over audio streams associated with avatars that are moving away from the receiving avatar;
combining the spatialized audio streams to create a combined spatialized audio stream; and
providing the combined spatialized audio stream to the user device.