Directed sound transmission systems and methods

Abstract

A method for providing directed transmission of sound waves, through modulation on an ultrasonic carrier, may comprise connecting at least one directed sound source to an audio system; emitting, via the at least one directed sound source, audio from the audio system, wherein the emitting comprises emitting medium-frequency audio waves and higher-frequency audio waves. The audio may be selected via a master control unit (MCU), which may be operatively coupled to a mobile application. In some embodiments, a first audio selection is configured to be heard only through a first directed sound source, and a second audio selection is configured to be heard only through a second directed sound source.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A master control unit (MCU) for a directionally focused speaker (DFS) system, the MCU configured to:
 cause one or more directionally focused speakers of the DFS system to modulate an ultrasonic carrier signal with audible-frequency audio content to produce a modulated signal;   cause the one or more directionally focused speakers to transmit the modulated signal toward a listener at a target location within a listening environment, wherein the modulated signal is configured to demodulate in response to reaching the listener such that the listener perceives the audible-frequency audio content; and   cause a noise-cancellation generator to emit a noise-cancellation audio signal toward the listener at the target location within the listening environment.   
     
     
         2 . The MCU of  claim 1 , further configured to:
 determine a source language of the audible-frequency audio content;   determine that the source language of the audio content is different from a target language associated with the listener at the target location; and   translate the source language of the audio content to the target language prior to causing the one or more directional speakers to modulate the ultrasonic carrier signal.   
     
     
         3 . The MCU of  claim 2 , further configured to:
 cause a microphone of the DFS system to detect an audio sample at a source location within the listening environment, the audio sample containing the audible-frequency audio content.   
     
     
         4 . The MCU of  claim 3 , further configured to facilitate, via the one or more directionally focused speakers, a live translation of a two-way verbal conversation between a first person at the source location and a second person comprising the listener at the target location. 
     
     
         5 . The MCU of  claim 4 , wherein the listening environment comprises an interior of a rideshare vehicle, wherein the first person comprises a driver of the rideshare vehicle, and wherein the second person comprises a passenger of the rideshare vehicle. 
     
     
         6 . The MCU of  claim 4 , further configured to automatically generate a written transcript of the two-way verbal conversation. 
     
     
         7 . The MCU of  claim 6 , further configured to assign a unique identifier to the written transcript and store the written transcript in memory under the unique identifier. 
     
     
         8 . The MCU of  claim 3 , further configured to facilitate, via the one or more directionally focused speakers, a live translation of a one-way verbal presentation between a first person at the source location and a plurality of listeners comprising the listener at a respective plurality of target locations comprising the target location. 
     
     
         9 . The MCU of  claim 8 , wherein the listening environment comprises a conference room or auditorium. 
     
     
         10 . A directionally focused speaker (DFS) system comprising:
 one or more directionally focused speakers;   a noise-cancellation generator; and   a master control unit (MCU) configured to:
 cause the one or more directionally focused speakers to modulate an ultrasonic carrier signal with audible-frequency audio content to produce a modulated signal; 
 cause the one or more directionally focused speakers to transmit the modulated signal toward a listener at a target location within a listening environment, wherein the modulated signal is configured to demodulate in response to reaching the listener such that the listener perceives the audible-frequency audio content; and 
 cause the noise-cancellation generator to emit a noise-cancellation audio signal toward the listener at the target location within the listening environment. 
   
     
     
         11 . The DFS system of  claim 10 , wherein the MCU is further configured to:
 determine a source language of the audible-frequency audio content;   determine that the source language of the audio content is different from a target language associated with the listener at the target location; and   translate the source language of the audio content to the target language prior to causing the one or more directional speakers to modulate the ultrasonic carrier signal.   
     
     
         12 . The DFS system of  claim 11 , wherein the MCU is further configured to cause a microphone of the DFS system to detect an audio sample at a source location within the listening environment, the audio sample containing the audible-frequency audio content. 
     
     
         13 . The DFS system of  claim 12 , wherein the MCU is further configured to facilitate, via the one or more directionally focused speakers, a live translation of a two-way verbal conversation between a first person at the source location and a second person comprising the listener at the target location. 
     
     
         14 . The DFS system of  claim 13 , wherein the listening environment comprises an interior of a rideshare vehicle, wherein the first person comprises a driver of the rideshare vehicle, and wherein the second person comprises a passenger of the rideshare vehicle. 
     
     
         15 . The DFS system of  claim 13 , wherein the MCU is further configured to automatically generate a written transcript of the two-way verbal conversation. 
     
     
         16 . The DFS system of  claim 15 , wherein the MCU is further configured to assign a unique identifier to the written transcript and store the written transcript in memory under the unique identifier. 
     
     
         17 . The DFS system of  claim 12 , wherein the MCU is further configured to facilitate, via the one or more directionally focused speakers, a live translation of a one-way verbal presentation between a first person at the source location and a plurality of listeners comprising the listener at a respective plurality of target locations comprising the target location. 
     
     
         18 . The DFS system of  claim 17 , wherein the listening environment comprises a conference room or auditorium. 
     
     
         19 . The DFS system of  claim 10 , wherein the noise-cancellation generator is positioned within a seat bottom or a seat back of the target location within the listening environment. 
     
     
         20 . A non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
 cause one or more directionally focused speakers to modulate an ultrasonic carrier signal with audible-frequency audio content to produce a modulated signal;   cause the one or more directionally focused speakers to transmit the modulated signal toward a listener at a target location within a listening environment, wherein the modulated signal is configured to demodulate in response to reaching the listener such that the listener perceives the audible-frequency audio content; and   cause a noise-cancellation generator to emit a noise-cancellation audio signal toward the listener at the target location within the listening environment.