WO2006125849A1

WO2006125849A1 - A real time localization and parameter control method, a device, and a system

Info

Publication number: WO2006125849A1
Application number: PCT/FI2005/000236
Authority: WO
Inventors: Fredrik Pelin; Svante LÖNNGREN
Original assignee: Noretron Stage Acoustics Oy
Priority date: 2005-05-23
Filing date: 2005-05-23
Publication date: 2006-11-30

Abstract

A method, a device, and a system for capturing a wideband, preferably UWB (Ultra-Wide Band) signal from which the position of the corresponding UWB transmitter is determined and used to control, preferably via MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), functional parameters of a target device such as an audio mixer or a light controller.

Description

A real time localization and parameter control method, a device, and a system

The present invention relates to localization-based control of a variety of parameters to be used in e.g. real time audio mixing. Especially the invention concerns solutions applicable in a stage environment where a person wears a cordless microphone that then transmits the captured audio signal to a receiver connected to a mixing board funnelling the amplified signal finally to the loudspeakers.

A number of solutions have been proposed for controlling, i.e. directing, the panning of a microphone signal amplified and reproduced in a sound system in real time fashion. Aforesaid prior art solutions are typically used together with other audio amplification gear to enable the audience to recognize differences in the perceived direction of incoming sounds and thus at least partially localize the sound source(s). Humans bear some natural ability to track sounds by utilizing different kinds of clues provided by the differences between the signals received via a left and a right ear, namely a level difference, a time difference, and a frequency response difference. It is obvious that by proactively altering these factors during at least a stereophonic audio reproduction stage, even a signal originally captured through a mono microphone can be processed into a set of slightly different signals outputted via a plurality of loudspeakers to better reflect the preferred, not necessarily the actual, physical position of the sound source to the listeners within the listening space. E.g. in the case of a plurality of actors moving and uttering sounds (e.g. speech, singing, crying, and various other noises) simultaneously on the stage, the overall audio-visual and therefore also mental experience is heavily affected by the mere listening experience, i.e. how the audience finds the visible position of the actors and the auditory perception to correlate. In a purely technical sense, without proper panning it may be hard and in many cases nearly impossible for the audience, to recognize the sound source of a certain received sound from the multiple movable sound sources such as actors bustling around on the stage.

Traditionally the pan (the term being short for panorama) control systems have been dependent on manual interaction by a responsible person or functioned in an automatized manner. In the former solution a sound technician controls, among other parameters, panning for each microphone channel to keep that up with the real position of the sound source or some other predetermined condition. Even if being duly trained, the technician cannot in practise handle more than two channels, e.g. microphone signals of two actors, in real time. Should more simultaneous audio sources be followed, the technician is forced to give up real time control and concentrate only on a few most important sound sources. Such situation may easily occur in a group scene of a play where multiple actors having a dialog on the stage are also moving.

Automatic or semi-automatic pan control is based on MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) sequences that the sound technician may in advance record and which control the audio equipment, e.g. a MIDI-compatible mixer, to pan the audio channels. The problem with such a solution arises from the non-predictability of actors' movements on the stage, for example. Despite of the possibly careful planning of such movements and timing thereof prior to the premiere, the actors' actions will not, in practise, stay in perfect synchronization with the pre-programmed panning sequences during the play. Triggering the sequences can, of course, be made manually but as the sequence size reduces, the manual triggering work required from the sound technician correspondingly increases thus approaching a situation where short sequences do not provide any additional value over a fully manual panning process.

Publication GB2358117, on which the preambles of independent claims 1 and 16 are based, discloses an arrangement wherein a number of radio beacons, e.g. GPS (Global

Positioning System) transmitters, are disposed in an area comprising a mobile receiver.

The mobile receiver, e.g. a GPS receiver, may be included in an audio microphone comprising also a high-frequency transmitter. Both the audio signal and a position signal derived from the received beacon signals are then transmitted wirelessly to a control device that adjusts the amplitude of audio signals reproduced through a pair of loudspeakers based on the position signal.

Notwithstanding some advantages provided by the above prior art arrangement over manual or automatic panning relying on predefined MIDI sequences, a few defects remain therein. The arrangement utilizes a plurality of collective radio beacons in addition to a high-frequency transmitter in each mobile transceiver. Therefore, localization actually requires sending data over the air interface both to the mobile transceivers and then to the control device. It may thus happen that the number of RF channels is not adequate for more ambitious projects, for example. Further, as the transceiver should be able to compute the position thereof locally from a plurality of received signals, additional processing and memory requirements must be allocated for the purpose. That also results in a more complex transceiver structure with larger, heavier, and more expensive components, not forgetting the obvious increase in price and likely even power consumption thereof. Still further, using multi-part transmission system with GPS signals reception and localization information transmission may not provide short enough latency time for further real time control of other parameters. Yet, installing actual GPS transmitters or links is not everybody's issue and may be prevented by the local laws etc. Still, accuracy of e.g. GPS based positioning is typically some meters, which may not be enough for a demanding user. Traditional RF technology also introduces problems especially in indoor conditions due to multi-path distortion causing severe errors to the localization results.

The object of the invention is to alleviate the aforementioned problems and provide a low delay ("real time"), high-capacity control system for a number of parameters, e.g. audio channel pan in a mixing board, based on the localization of one or more movable, traceable entities. The object is achieved by a method as defined in the characterizing portion of claim 1, and by a device as defined in the characterizing portion of claim 16.

In the solution of the invention, movable entities such as a plurality of actors moving on a stage are each equipped with a wideband, preferably UWB (Ultra- Wide Band), transmitter, the signal of which is later received and identified by a control device through a plurality of receivers for location, e.g. coordinate, determination. The location information is converted into a representative control signal, preferably a MIDI signal, in accordance with rules defined by control logic included in the control device. The signal is transmitted to one or more connected devices for pan, balance, effect, spotlight, etc control purposes. The invention is generally applicable to whatever predefined space, e.g. stage, -targeted control scenarios. For example, actors, players, spectators, program hosts, etc may wear a UWB transmitter, sometimes called a tag, that the control device of the invention is able to localize through a plurality of pre-mounted UWB receivers in that space, the UWB receivers being sometimes called UWB sensors, for further control of desired parameters.

The utility of the invention arises from a plurality of issues. First, only a transmitter needs to be supplied to the movable entities instead of a transceiver and there is no demand for separate beacons such as terrestrial GPS links. The transmitter may be kept small, light, and simple, as it does not have to calculate the location estimate itself. Respectively, price and power consumption thereof will be low. The control device may comprise a standard computer loaded with specialized software; thus using some purpose-specific control hardware is not necessary, possible though, as long as the UWB signal receivers needed to provide the mandatory reception data for localization are available.

Secondly, MIDI is a worldwide standard for interconnecting digital music devices. The original specification defines both a MIDI message format and a MIDI (DIN) connector, but it is obvious to a person skilled in the art to utilize whatever suitable transport, e.g. contemporary high-speed USB and Firewire (standard: MIDI over IEEE- 1394) interfaces, to carry message signals having MIDI format, which is the case in this particular invention as well. The basic format from 1983 and its more recent variations (manufacture-specific extensions, General MIDI, General MIDI 2, etc) are understood by vast majority of all electronic music equipment like mixers, effects, and, of course, instruments. In addition, many general use computers carry either an internal or external MIDI interface. The MIDI format defines events that the sending device transmits to the receiving device for control purposes. The specification also includes undefined messages or bit combinations than can be taken into use in an application- specific manner. In addition to or instead of MIDI, also other control interfaces and standards may be applied. E.g. DMX (Digital Multi-plex) is a standard protocol for connecting and controlling lighting and related equipment. In the receiving device (audio) software control may be based on DirectX or VST (Virtual Studio Technology) signals, for example.

Wideband transmission like UWB, on its part, enables accurate and fast positioning, as with UWB localization we talk about centimetres instead of meters what comes to the geographical resolution, and a frequency of ten or more location updates per second, which is sufficient for most applications. Whereas wideband as a term typically refers to transmission where the transmission bandwidth is greater than 0.1 % of the center frequency, UWB, which is also called a carrier-free or impulse technology, likewise refers to electromagnetic waves with instantaneous bandwidth greater than 25% of the center frequency or an absolute bandwidth of 1.5 GHz or more. UWB outperforms traditional RF positioning as it is less sensitive to multipath distortion and utilizes "time of arrival" information of received pulses rather than the mere signal strength. Unlike infrared technology UWB signals pass through objects such as walls and clothing. More sophisticated, already existing UWB systems even utilize both the time difference of arrival (TDOA) and the angle of arrival (AOA) information, which lowers the number of receivers necessary to cover the preferred area, instead of exploiting TDOA information only. UWB transmitting power is low, e.g. some microwatts, thus the resulting interference introduced to other devices is kept minimal and the battery life in the transmitter units long. Respectively, the number of transmitters within an area can be adaptively selected without traditional RF channel allocation problems.

Some further benefits provided by the invention are explained hereinafter in connection with the description of related embodiments.

In an embodiment of the invention a stage of a theatre is provided with a plurality of UWB receivers capable of capturing UWB signals from a UWB transmitter worn by an actor. The UWB receivers are functionally connected to a control device that determines the location estimate of the UWB transmitter, converts it into a MIDI signal according to predetermined criteria, and controls parameters of an audio mixer by transmitting the MIDI signal thereto. Different variations and options for carrying out the inventive concept are likewise presented.

In the following, the invention is described in more detail by reference to the attached drawings, wherein

Fig. 1 illustrates the embodiment of the invention in which an actor carrying a cordless microphone and a UWB transmitter stands on a stage.

Fig. 2 depicts a subsequent image of the same embodiment with updated actor/transmitter location.

Fig. 3 discloses a scenario wherein a second actor equipped with a cordless microphone and UWB transmitter has also entered the stage.

Fig. 4 illustrates multiple mixer parameters' control through the actor localization.

Fig. 5 is a flow diagram of a possible signal flow in the scenario of figure 4.

Fig. 6 depicts how in addition to horizontal position also the vertical position of the actor can be determined and used for further control.

Fig. 7 visualizes how an analogue mixer board can be used together with the invention via an audio/MIDI interface.

Fig. 8 discloses a block diagram of an apparatus capable of acting as the control device of the invention.

Figure 1 shows an initial scenario of an embodiment of the invention where actor 102 standing on stage 104 carries both cordless microphone 106 and UWB transmitter 108. Microphone signal is captured by microphone signal receiver 110 connected to channel 112 of digital mixer 114. UWB signal emitted by UWB transmitter 108 is received at multiple, two or more (e.g. four), compatible UWB receivers 116 distributed to the vicinity of stage 104. The final number of UWB receivers 116, being three in the visualization, is user-definable and case-dependent; for example, the size of the monitored area on stage 104 and the preferred target accuracy of location estimates, e.g. the number of monitored dimensions, have their obvious effect thereon.

UWB receivers 116 transmit signals 118 corresponding to the received and recognized UWB signals to location detector 120 that utilizes them to calculate an indication of actor's 102 (or actually UWB transmitter's 108) location by exploiting the preferred prior art technique. Transmission between UWB receivers 116 and location detector 120 may be either wireless or wired.

Location detector 120 can be implemented as a separate device that sends messages 122 including the indications to control device 124, or be directly included in control device 124 in a form of an application and optional hardware, for example. The indication may represent the estimated location of UWB transmitter 108 via different means; e.g. via a single coordinate number within a predefined range, said coordinate called e.g. an "X"-coordinate being proportional to the distance between the leftmost point of the stage's front borderline and the projection of actor 102 to the borderline as in the depicted case, or via any other preferred single/multiple axis (dimension) based location indication technique.

Control device 124 has been supplied with necessary software 126 including preferably user-definable configuration information for converting the location indication into one or more control, preferably MIDI, signals 128 including a number of control parameters. In the specific case of picture 1 such MIDI signal 128 could be MIDI PAN control message (control change #10, with value 0 referring to the extreme left position and value 127 to the extreme right position) that sets the pan value of a selected MIDI channel being linked (dotted line) with audio channel 112 to which microphone signal receiver 110 has been connected. MIDI signal 128 thus controls pan 130 of audio channel 112 in mixer 114. During the captured moment actor 102 (or his projection on stage's front borderline) is located 30% left from the centre position and thus pan 130 is set via control signal 128 to a value approximately corresponding to fair third of the complete range. Hypothetical spectator or listener 132 who has placed himself to the central audience will now perceive the stereo signal from loudspeakers 134 to reside ~30% more on the left side, which better matches with the visual experience and helps listener 132 to quicker localize the current sound source.

Figure 2 depicts a situation where actor 102 resides halfway the centre and the extreme right position of stage 104. Thus, due to the aforementioned arrangement pan 130 of channel 112 in mixer 114 is automatically directed 50% right from the default centre position. Respectively, listener 132 will now realize more briefly the updated position of actor 102 uttering on stage 104 as the microphone signal is amplified and output from loudspeakers 134 with corresponding emphasis.

In the scenario of figure 3 two actors 102, 302 are both carrying a UWB transmitter the signals of which are captured by UWB receivers 116 and forwarded to location detector 120 that determines the locations of actors 102, 302 and feeds the location information to control device 124. Control device 124 has been configured to send

MIDI signal 128 to mixer 114, MIDI signal 128 defining the pan value of two MIDI channels being linked with audio channels 112 and 304 the latter of which receives the input audio signal from microphone signal receiver 306 supplied with the microphone signal from actor 302.

In figure 4 location detector 120 is configured to determine actor's 102 position in two dimensions, i.e. both "X" and "Y" coordinates are specified (see the illustrated axes in the figure) instead of "X" coordinate only. This time also control device 126 sends a more complicated MIDI control signal to mixer 114 including pan 130, volume 402, and e.g. aux-send 404 information adapted such that actor movements in "X" direction are modelled with pan 130 control and movements in "Y" direction are modelled with volume 402 and optionally aux-send 404 (interface for external devices such as effects) controls to reflect actor's 102 position to listener 132 even more accurately than with just a single control parameter.

Figure 5 should be recognized only as an exemplary flow diagram of a signal flow of the invention and it applies especially to the scenario presented in figure 4. Signals 118 from UWB receivers 116 are first transferred to location detector 120 wherein the location estimates for the UWB transmitter(s) corresponding to the received signals are determined 502. Location indication messages 122 including e.g. an ID of the UWB transmitter and numeric location information such as current XfY(IZ) coordinates thereof are then transmitted to control device 126, e.g. a computer, wherein location information is converted 504 into control, e.g. MIDI, signals 128 to be supplied to mixer 114 for audio parameter control. It's clear that in addition to a compatible control signal construction in purely digital domain also the physical interface of mixer 114 has to be met to duly feed control data thereto; therefore e.g. internal/external HW adaptor 506 such as a MIDI interface can be functionally connected to control device 126 to support the physical interface of mixer 114.

All the blocks encompassed by dotted line 508 can be executed within control device 126, for example, whereas blocks within dotted line 510 can even be implemented through pure software, e.g. as computer application 126, 512 with necessary additional configuration 514 and calibration 516 data. Configuration data 514 may include a mapping table between each UWB transmitter 108 and output control signal (selected parameters, channels, etc). Calibration data 516 may include information of active areas on which the movable entities like actors carrying the UWB transmitters are supposed to move and how the incoming location information is to be limited or scaled, if necessary. The operator of control device 126 shall advantageously define the areas for a number of control purposes by himself prior to or even during the execution of the real time control process. One option to carry out this is to provide the operator with a graphical representation of a general or a case-specific (programmed to the system by the operator) area on which the operator can quickly define the sub-areas for different parameters' control. The operator may further define additional control functions for situations where an entity carrying an UWB transmitter exits/enters a predetermined area, i.e. the actor leaves or arrives on the stage. A mute function of corresponding audio channel in mixer 114 can be then activated/released by control signal 128, for example. Yet, calibration data 516 may define how the conversion is to be done between the location information and actual parameter values. This might be of special importance whenever location detector 120 and UWB receivers 116 are third-party products of a bulk type, i.e. they cannot be calibrated very thoroughly by the operator of control device 126, and so the operator may through testing adapt the input location information to match with the preferred parameter value ranges etc.

Figure 6 generally discloses how addition of one dimension in the location information, see the "Z"-axis in the figure, could be used for additional control. In the case of additional loudspeaker pair 602 installed vertically separate from original loudspeakers 134, the balance between original 134 and additional 602 loudspeakers could be controlled by the actor's vertical position on stage 104.

As the previous examples have indicated, the invention may be used to control, instead of a single loudspeaker, a complete system, e.g. a surround system, or multiple loudspeaker systems, each comprising a number of loudspeakers. This could provide benefits over common solutions e.g. in a stadium environment where dimensions are in the extreme and sound source localization has even greater effect in the audiovisual experience than in most indoor conditions.

Figure 7 gives an example of exploiting the invention in situations where the target device such as analogue mixer 702 does not bear necessary (digital) interfacing capabilities to receive and act according to the control signal transmitted by control device 126. A separate audio/control signal, e.g. MIDI, interface hardware 704 is used to convert a mono microphone signal originally received from the microphone signal receiver and forwarded by analogue mixer 702 to a stereo output signal fed back to analogue mixer 702 to be amplified and output to the loudspeakers.

Figure 8 discloses a block diagram of an electronic device, e.g. a computer, to be used as control device 126 and optionally including also some or all functionalities of location detector 120. The device comprises memory 804 divided between one or more physical memory chips or cards and including necessary code/instructions, e.g. in a form of a computer program(s)/application(s), and other data, e.g. current configuration and received location information. Processing unit 802, e.g. a microprocessor, a DSP, microcontroller, or a programmable logic chip, is required for the actual execution of the method in accordance with instructions stored in memory 804. Display 806 and keypad/keyboard 808 or other applicable user input means provide the user with optional device control and data visualization means, i.e. a user interface. Data transfer means 810 include necessary hardware and software interfaces for inputting and outputting the necessary data, e.g. application, location and control information, to/from control device 126. Such means 810 may be wired or wireless receivers, transmitters, or transceivers (being optionally separate for transmission and reception direction and separate for different types of interfaces) including the aforementioned MIDI interface, for example. The invention may be implemented as a combination of tailored software and more generic hardware, or even exclusively through specialized hardware such as ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

The application to carry out the inventive method may be delivered separately on a carrier medium such as a magnetic disk, a cd-rom, a memory card, etc.

Reverting to different alternatives while implementing the inventive concept in reality, the signals from cordless microphone 106 and UWB transmitter 108 can be combined to reduce the number of wireless traffic and thus the frequency usage on the hot spot. Thus the same aggregate signal would carry both the digitalized audio data and the positioning signal to the receiving device, e.g. location detector 120 that would either pass the audio data towards mixer 114 directly or via other devices like control device 124. If loosing some degrees of freedom in the system design and increasing audio delay are not the most critical issues, as e.g. the delay will inevitably rise in contrast to a fully analogue solution where the cordless microphones are connected to the mixer without middle-devices, such approach may appear feasible. Audio microphone can also be integrated with the UWB transmitter.

Controlled device(s) do not have to be digital or analogue mixers 114, 702, as the invention is applicable for controlling whatever compatible device and functions thereof, e.g. a recorder, a light controller, etc.

Moreover, the control means even in pure audio case can be considerably more complex than presented hereinbefore. Different filtering techniques may be applied to the audio signals to be reproduced through the loudspeakers for more accurate or specifically twisted listening experience and audio source localization or spatialization.

The filters may be first formed by determining transfer functions from different locations on a predetermined area, e.g. stage, to preferred area(s) in the listening space and then used for stereo filtering and thus positioning the received (mono) sound signal prior to amplification. Filtering may adjust e.g. amplitude and phase of the input sound.

One applicable option for acquiring location information from the movable entities over UWB is called Ubisense (trademark of Ubisense Limited). The Ubisense platform creates sensor cells each of which typically requires four or more sensors. The cells can overlap if necessary and the UWB transmitters called Ubitags are seamlessly tracked across cells by the Ubisense platform. With the current version of Ubisense system, the maximum tag-sensor distance is greater than 50m and the recommended (single) cell coverage area is 625m^Λ2 being thus already quite suitable for stage use. Accuracy of location estimates should remain within 15cm and the UWB channel is created on frequency range 5.8-7.2GHz

The scope of the invention is found in the following claims. Although a few more or less focused examples were given in the text about the invention's applicability and feasible implementations, purpose thereof was not to restrict the usage area of the actual fulcrum of the invention to any certain occasion, which should be evident to rational readers. For example, the term MIDI refers to the basic standard from year 1983 as well as to various new versions and extensions thereof.

More information about MIDI standard(s) and Ubisense platform can be found in references [1] and [2], respectively. References:

[1] MIDI manufacturers organisation web pages, http://www.midi.org/

[2] Ubisense web pages, http://www.ubisense.net/

Claims

1. A method for adjusting a number of control parameters based on radio frequency localization of a movable entity to be performed by an electronic device, characterized in that said method has the steps of:

-receiving a number of messages indicative of a location of a number of movable entities equipped with a wideband, preferably UWB (Ultra- Wide Band), transmitter (122),

-converting the received location information into at least one control, preferably MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), signal including a number of control parameters (504), and

-transmitting the control signal to another device (128).

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of receiving a plurality of wideband signals from at least one movable entity, determining location of the movable entity based on the plurality of wideband signals, and creating a message indicative of said location.

3. The method of any of claims 1-2, further comprising the step of adjusting at least one functional parameter of said another device based on the information provided by the control signal.

4. The method of any of claims 1-3, further comprising the steps of wirelessly receiving a signal from a cordless microphone of at least one movable entity belonging to the number of movable entities, providing the signal or a variant thereof to said another device, and controlling reproduction of a corresponding audio signal through a plurality of loudspeakers in said another device, said reproduction control being based on the information provided by the control signal.

5. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein the control signal affects at least stereophonic audio reproduction in said another device.

6. The method of any of claims 1-5, wherein said control signal comprises a MIDI pan or MIDI balance control message.

7. The method of any of claims 1-6, wherein said another device comprises at least one of the following: a mixer, a light controller, an effect device, a musical instrument, or a recorder.

8. The method of any of claims 1-7, further comprising the step of determining a number of areas for the movable entities within which the location of the entities is tracked and converted into the number of control signals.

9. The method of any of claims 1-8, wherein said location information comprises coordinate, either relative or absolute or both, information.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein an area belonging to the number of areas is substantially a stage.

11. The method of any of claims 1-10, wherein said movable entity is a person, preferably an actor, a player, or a speaker, carrying the wideband transmitter.

12. The method of any of claims 1-11, wherein said converting includes mapping location information into a parameter value.

13. A computer executable program (126) comprising code means adapted, when the program is run on a computer device, to carry out the method steps as defined by any of claims 1-12.

14. A carrier medium having a computer executable program recorded thereon as defined by claim 13.

15. The carrier medium of claim 14 that is a memory card, a magnetic disk, or a cd- rom.

16. An electronic device for providing control information to another device based on radio frequency localization of a movable entity, said electronic device comprising

-data transfer means (810) for receiving and sending data,

-memory means (804) for storing instructions and data, characterized in that said electronic device further comprises

-processing means (802) configured to, in accordance with instructions stored in memory (804), receive location information relating to the location of the movable entity equipped with a wideband, preferably UWB (Ultra- Wide Band), transmitter, convert said location information into at least one control, preferably MIDI (Musical Instruments Digital Interface), signal including a number of control parameters, and to transmit said control signal to said another device.

17. The electronic device of claim 16, wherein said control signal is digital.

18. The electronic device of any of claims 16-17, wherein said data transfer means (810) include a MIDI interface.

19. The electronic device of any of claims 16-18, wherein said control signal comprises a MIDI pan or MIDI balance control message.

20. The electronic device of any of claims 16-19, wherein said another device comprises at least one of the following: a mixer, a light controller, an effect device, a musical instrument, or a recorder.

21. The electronic device of any of claims 16-20, wherein said processing means (802) is further configured to determine a number of areas for the movable entities within which the location of the entities is tracked and converted into the number of control signals.

22. The electronic device of any of claims 16-21, further comprising a user interface (806, 808) for receiving user input for determining the settings for the conversion procedure.

23. The electronic device of any of claims 16-22, wherein said location information comprises coordinate, either relative or absolute or both, information.

24. The electronic device of any of claims 16-23, wherein said processing means (802) is configured to receive location information relating to the locations of multiple movable entities.

25. The electronic device of any of claims 16-24, wherein said processing means (802) is further configured to construct an application-specific MIDI message for transmitting the control information.

26. A control system comprising an electronic device as defined by any of claims 16- 25, said system further comprising a location detector (120) comprising means for receiving a signal from multiple wideband, preferably UWB, receivers (116), means for determining a location of the movable entity based on the signals, and means for transmitting the location information to the electronic device.

27. The control system of claim 26, further comprising a plurality of UWB receivers for receiving a UWB signal from the movable entity.

28. The control system of any of claims 26-27, further comprising said another device.

29. The control system of claim 28, wherein said another device is at least one of the following: a mixer, a recorder, a musical instrument, an effect device, or a light controller.