US Patent 11778369 Notification apparatus, notification method, and program

Provided is a notification technique that makes it possible to notify a person of a direction in which a danger exists, using a sound. A notification apparatus includes: an audio signal determination unit that determines, from information (hereinafter referred to as type information) regarding a type of a danger estimated based on sensor data that is data acquired by a sensor, an audio signal corresponding to a type indicated by the type information; an audio image forming unit that determines, from the audio signal and information (hereinafter referred to as direction information) regarding a direction in which the danger has occurred estimated based on the sensor data, audio image information that are combinations of a speaker that is to emit a sound to prompt a driver to pay attention to the direction indicated by the direction information and an audio signal that is to be played back by the speaker, by performing beam forming; and speakers that play back an audio signal input thereto, wherein the audio image information is determined based on a positional relationship between the speakers, a structural object of a vehicle, and the driver so that the driver perceives a sound emitted from the speakers and reflected by the structural object of the vehicle as a sound coming from the direction indicated by the direction information.