Conversation Focus on Ray-Ban Meta Glasses: Challenges and Research Directions for AR/VR Audio Features

Abstract: 
This talk presents an overview of the recently launched Conversation Focus feature on Meta smart glasses. We survey the major technical challenges inherent to delivering conversational audio enhancement in wearable AR form factors and identify a broad set of open research directions that emerge from this work. The discussion is intentionally general in scope, aiming to map the landscape of related problems and to highlight opportunities for future investigation across the AR/VR audio domain.

Bio:
Dr Buye Xu, Ph.D., is a Research Scientist Lead/Manager at Meta Reality Labs Research, specializing in audio signal processing and artificial intelligence. With over 15 years of experience spanning academia and industry, Buye leads advancements in speech enhancement, spatial audio, and machine learning for AR/VR and hearing technologies. Prior to joining Meta, he was a Senior Research Engineer at Starkey Hearing Technologies, where he developed cutting-edge solutions for hearing aids and wearable audio devices. Buye is also recognized for his work in active noise cancellation, speech quality assessment, and room acoustics. From 2018 to 2021, he served as an Associate Editor for the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America Express Letters (JASA EL).