3488results about "Microphones signal combination" patented technology

Sound processing methods and apparatus are provided. A sound capture unit is configured to identify one or more sound sources. The sound capture unit generates data capable of being analyzed to determine a listening zone at which to process sound to the substantial exclusion of sounds outside the listening zone. Sound captured and processed for the listening zone may be used for interactivity with the computer program. The listening zone may be adjusted based on the location of a sound source. One or more listening zones may be pre-calibrated. The apparatus may optionally include an image capture unit configured to capture one or more image frames. The listening zone may be adjusted based on the image. A video game unit may be controlled by generating inertial, optical and / or acoustic signals with a controller and tracking a position and / or orientation of the controller using the inertial, acoustic and / or optical signal.

The invention enables the capture of sound fields with coding and efficient distribution of electrical signals representing the sound fields for subsequent reproduction in a listening environment utilising pairs of non-equidistant apparatus in various defined configurations such that the acoustic distance as well as direction of sound sources is consistently presented with regard to in front of, behind, beside or below from a listening point anywhere in the listening environment and for any listener orientation, thus making the whole listening area a sweet spot and enabling true shared audio experiences, without the need for worn apparatus. New apparatus and methods for capture, distribution and reproduction or render are also disclosed that enable enhanced perception of captured and reproduced sound for shared experiences with both common and individual capture and reproduction apparatus and new communications and control methods and apparatus for multiple users including heightened perception capability and also improved security aspects are also disclosed.

Disclosed are personal electronic devices (PEDs) having a sensory enhancement (SE) system for monitoring environmental conditions and detecting environmental events, for example but not limited to, changes in acoustic, thermal, optical, electromagnetic, chemical, dynamic, wireless, atmospheric, or biometric conditions. The detection of such events can be used to invoke a notification, an alert, a corrective action, or some other action, depending upon the implementation to the PED user or another party.

The ability to combine multiple audio signals captured from the microphones in a microphone array is frequently used in beamforming systems. Typically, beamforming involves processing the output audio signals of the microphone array in such a way as to make the microphone array act as a highly directional microphone. In other words, beamforming provides a “listening beam” which points to a particular sound source while often filtering out other sounds. A “generic beamformer,” as described herein automatically designs a set of beams (i.e., beamforming) that cover a desired angular space range within a prescribed search area. Beam design is a function of microphone geometry and operational characteristics, and also of noise models of the environment around the microphone array. One advantage of the generic beamformer is that it is applicable to any microphone array geometry and microphone type.

The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for mixing audio signals. The invention is based on the idea to base selection of what audio channels to mix on the dynamic behavior of the audio channels in terms of whether they are active or not, rather than basing the selection on quantative measures of the audio channels. According to the invention, a set of audio channels are arranged in a mixing stack and a mixed audio signal is produced from the topmost channels above a predetermined threshold level in the stack. Whenever a channel becomes active, it is placed at the top of the stack.

A method for reducing noise associated with an audio signal received through a microphone sensor array is provided. The method initiates with enhancing a target signal component of the audio signal through a first filter. Simultaneously, the target signal component is blocked by a second filter. Then, the output of the first filter and the output of the second filter are combined in a manner to reduce noise without distorting the target signal. Next, an acoustic set-up associated with the audio signal is periodically monitored. Then, a value of the first filter and a value of the second filter are both calibrated based upon the acoustic set-up. A system capable of isolating a target audio signal from multiple noise sources, a video game controller, and an integrated circuit configured to isolate a target audio signal are included.

Techniques are provided to suppress noise and interference using an array microphone and a combination of time-domain and frequency-domain signal processing. In one design, a noise suppression system includes an array microphone, at least one voice activity detector (VAD), a reference generator, a beam-former, and a multi-channel noise suppressor. The array microphone includes multiple microphones—at least one omni-directional microphone and at least one uni-directional microphone. Each microphone provides a respective received signal. The VAD provides at least one voice detection signal used to control the operation of the reference generator, beam-former, and noise suppressor. The reference generator provides a reference signal based on a first set of received signals and having desired voice signal suppressed. The beam-former provides a beam-formed signal based on a second set of received signals and having noise and interference suppressed. The noise suppressor further suppresses noise and interference in the beam-formed signal.

Targeted sound detection methods and apparatus are disclosed. A microphone array has two or more microphones M0 . . . MM. Each microphone is coupled to a plurality of filters. The filters are configured to filter input signals corresponding to sounds detected by the microphones thereby generating a filtered output. One or more sets of filter parameters for the plurality of filters are pre-calibrated to determine one or more corresponding pre-calibrated listening zones. Each set of filter parameters is selected to detect portions of the input signals corresponding to sounds originating within a given listening zone and filter out sounds originating outside the given listening zone. A particular pre-calibrated listening zone is selected at a runtime by applying to the plurality of filters a set of filter coefficients corresponding to the particular pre-calibrated listening zone. As a result, the microphone array may detect sounds originating within the particular listening sector and filter out sounds originating outside the particular listening zone. Sounds are detected with the microphone array. A particular listening zone containing a source of the sound is identified. The sound or the source of the sound is characterized and the sound is emphasized or filtered out depending on how the sound is characterized.

Targeted sound detection methods and apparatus are disclosed. A microphone array has two or more microphones M0 . . . MM. Each microphone is coupled to a plurality of filters. The filters are configured to filter input signals corresponding to sounds detected by the microphones thereby generating a filtered output. One or more sets of filter parameters for the plurality of filters are pre-calibrated to determine one or more corresponding pre-calibrated listening zones. Each set of filter parameters is selected to detect portions of the input signals corresponding to sounds originating within a given listening zone and filter out sounds originating outside the given listening zone. A particular pre-calibrated listening zone is selected at a runtime by applying to the plurality of filters a set of filter coefficients corresponding to the particular pre-calibrated listening zone. As a result, the microphone array may detect sounds originating within the particular listening sector and filter out sounds originating outside the particular listening zone.

In one embodiment, a directional microphone array having (at least) two microphones generates forward and backward cardioid signals from two (e.g., omnidirectional) microphone signals. An adaptation factor is applied to the backward cardioid signal, and the resulting adjusted backward cardioid signal is subtracted from the forward cardioid signal to generate a (first-order) output audio signal corresponding to a beampattern having no nulls for negative values of the adaptation factor. After low-pass filtering, spatial noise suppression can be applied to the output audio signal. Microphone arrays having one (or more) additional microphones can be designed to generate second- (or higher-) order output audio signals.

The present invention provides a process for separating a good quality information signal from a noisy acoustic environment. The separation process uses a set of at least two spaced-apart transducers to capture noise and information components. The transducer signals, which have both a noise and information component, are received into a separation process. The separation process generates one channel that is substantially only noise, and another channel that is a combination of noise and information. An identification process is used to identify which channel has the information component. The noise signal is then used to set process characteristics that are applied to the combination signal to efficiently reduce or eliminate the noise component. In this way, the noise is effectively removed from the combination signal to generate a good qualify information signal. The information signal may be, for example, a speech signal, a seismic signal, a sonar signal, or other acoustic signal.

Spatial noise suppression for audio signals involves generating a ratio of powers of difference and sum signals of audio signals from two microphones and then performing noise suppression processing, e.g., on the sum signal where the suppression is limited based on the power ratio. In certain embodiments, at least one of the signal powers is filtered (e.g., the sum signal power is equalized) prior to generating the power ratio. In a subband implementation, sum and difference signal powers and corresponding the power ratio are generated for different audio signal subbands, and the noise suppression processing is performed independently for each different subband based on the corresponding subband power ratio, where the amount of suppression is derived independently for each subband from the corresponding subband power ratio. In an adaptive filtering implementation, at least one of the audio signals can be adaptively filtered to allow for array self-calibration and modal-angle variability.

Embodiments include methods and apparatuses for sensing acoustic waves for a conferencing application. A conferencing apparatus includes a plurality of directional microphones oriented to cover a corresponding plurality of direction vectors and disposed in a housing. An orientation sensor is configured to generate an orientation signal indicative of an orientation of the housing. A processor is operably coupled to the plurality of directional microphones and the orientation sensor. The processor is configured to automatically adjust a signal processing characteristic of one or more directional microphones of the plurality of directional microphones responsive to the orientation signal.

In some embodiments, spatially realistic audio may be provided for a conference call. Voices from participants on the left side of a display, in a conference call, may be directed through audio on the left side of the display at the other conferencing system in the conference call (similarly for voices from the center and right side of the display). In some embodiments, two speakers may be used in the system to create synthesized stereo sound at a location specified by directional information received as side information along with the existing audio channel. The location may be determined by using beamforming with integrated microphones on a camera or speakerphone. In some embodiments, the audio signal and directional information may be sent in the form of a left audio channel and a right audio channel.

Systems and methods for utilizing inter-microphone level differences (ILD) to attenuate noise and enhance speech are provided. In exemplary embodiments, primary and secondary acoustic signals are received by omni-directional microphones, and converted into primary and secondary electric signals. A differential microphone array module processes the electric signals to determine a cardioid primary signal and a cardioid secondary signal. The cardioid signals are filtered through a frequency analysis module which takes the signals and mimics a cochlea implementation (i.e., cochlear domain). Energy levels of the signals are then computed, and the results are processed by an ILD module using a non-linear combination to obtain the ILD. In exemplary embodiments, the non-linear combination comprises dividing the energy level associated with the primary microphone by the energy level associated with the secondary microphone. The ILD is utilized by a noise reduction system to enhance the speech of the primary acoustic signal.

An apparatus includes multiple microphones to generate audio signals based on sound of a far-field acoustic environment. The apparatus also includes a signal processing system to process the audio signals to generate at least one processed audio signal. The signal processing system is configured to update one or more processing parameters while operating in a first operational mode and is configured to use a static version of the one or more processing parameters while operating in the second operational mode. The apparatus further includes a keyword detection system to perform keyword detection based on the at least one processed audio signal to determine whether the sound includes an utterance corresponding to a keyword and, based on a result of the keyword detection, to send a control signal to the signal processing system to change an operational mode of the signal processing system.

An apparatus for measuring a plurality of loudspeakers arranged at different positions includes a generator of a test signal for a loudspeaker; a microphone device configured for receiving a plurality of different sound signals in response to one or more loudspeaker signals emitted by one of the loudspeakers in response to the test signal; a controller for controlling emissions of the loudspeaker signals by the loudspeakers and for handling the different sound signals so that a set of sound signals recorded by the microphone device is associated with each loudspeaker in response to the test signal; and an evaluator for evaluating the set of sound signals for each loudspeaker to determine at least one loudspeaker characteristic for each loudspeaker and for indicating a loudspeaker state using the at least one loudspeaker characteristic. This scheme allows automatic, efficient and accurate measurement of loudspeakers arranged in a three-dimensional configuration.

Two or more microphones receive acoustic signals and generate audio signals that are processed to determine what portion of the audio signals result from (i) incoherence between the audio signals and / or (ii) audio-signal sources having propagation speeds different from the acoustic signals. The audio signals are filtered to reduce that portion of one or more of the audio signals. The present invention can be used to reduce turbulent wind-noise resulting from wind or other airjets blowing across the microphones. Time-dependent phase and amplitude differences between the microphones can be compensated for based on measurements made in parallel with routine audio system processing.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to methods, systems, and computer program products for signal processing. A first plurality of microphone signals is obtained by a first microphone array. A second plurality of microphone signals is obtained by a second microphone array different from the first microphone array. The first plurality of microphone signals is beamformed by a first beamformer comprising beamforming weights to obtain a first beamformed signal. The second plurality of microphone signals is beamformed by a second beamformer comprising the same beamforming weights as the first beamformer to obtain a second beamformed signal. The beamforming weights are adjusted such that the power density of echo components and / or noise components present in the first and second plurality of microphone signals is substantially reduced.

A communication system (e.g., a speakerphone) includes an array of microphones, a speaker, memory and a processor. The processor may perform a virtual broadside scan on the microphone array and analyze the resulting amplitude envelope to identify acoustic source angles. Each of the source angles may be further investigated with a directed beam (e.g., a hybrid superdirective / delay-and-sum beam) to obtain a corresponding beam signal. Each source may be classified as either intelligence or noise based on an analysis of the corresponding beam signal. The processor may design a virtual beam pointed at an intelligence source and having nulls directed at one or more of the noise sources. Thus, the virtual beam may be highly sensitive to the intelligence source and insensitive to the noise sources.

An apparatus comprises microphone receivers (101) which receive microphone signals from a plurality of microphones (103). A comparator (105) determines a speech similarity indication indicative of a similarity between the microphone signal and non-reverberant speech for each microphone signal. The determination is in response to a comparison of a property derived from the microphone signal to a reference property for non-reverberant speech. In some embodiments, the comparator (105) determines the similarity indication by comparing to reference properties for speech samples of a set of non-reverberant speech samples. A generator (107) generates a speech signal by combining the microphone signals in response to the similarity indications. In many embodiments, the apparatus may be distributed over a plurality of devices each containing a microphone, and the approach may determine the most suited microphone for generating the speech signal.

Systems and methods for utilizing inter-microphone level differences to attenuate noise and enhance speech are provided. In exemplary embodiments, energy estimates of acoustic signals received by a primary microphone and a secondary microphone are determined in order to determine an inter-microphone level difference (ILD). This ILD in combination with a noise estimate based only on a primary microphone acoustic signal allow a filter estimate to be derived. In some embodiments, the derived filter estimate may be smoothed. The filter estimate is then applied to the acoustic signal from the primary microphone to generate a speech estimate.

An audio processing system for a listening device includes an input device, a voice activity detector and a ratio-based attenuator. The input device is configured to receive a first audio signal emanating from an environment and including a signal of interest. The voice activity detector is configured to generate a control signal in response to the first audio signal. The ratio-based attenuator is configured to receive the control signal and determine whether the signal level of the first audio signal exceeds the signal level of an audio signal received from an audio playback device by at least a target difference. If so, then the audio level of the playback audio signal is maintained. Otherwise, the audio level of the playback audio signal is adjusted, where, at the adjusted value, the first signal level exceeds the playback signal level by at least the target difference.

A method and system for enhancing a target sound signal from multiple sound signals is provided. An array of an arbitrary number of sound sensors positioned in an arbitrary configuration receives the sound signals from multiple disparate sources. The sound signals comprise the target sound signal from a target sound source, and ambient noise signals. A sound source localization unit, an adaptive beamforming unit, and a noise reduction unit are in operative communication with the array of sound sensors. The sound source localization unit estimates a spatial location of the target sound signal from the received sound signals. The adaptive beamforming unit performs adaptive beamforming by steering a directivity pattern of the array of sound sensors in a direction of the spatial location of the target sound signal, thereby enhancing the target sound signal and partially suppressing the ambient noise signals, which are further suppressed by the noise reduction unit.

An array of microphones utilizes two sets of two microphones for noise suppression. A primary microphone and secondary microphone of the three microphones may be positioned closely spaced to each other to provide acoustic signals used to achieve noise cancellation. A tertiary microphone may be spaced with respect to either the primary microphone or the secondary microphone in a spread-microphone configuration for deriving level cues from audio signals provided by tertiary and the primary or secondary microphone. Signals from two microphones may be used rather than three microphones. The level cues are expressed via an inter-microphone level difference (ILD) which is used to determine one or more cluster tracking control signals. The ILD based cluster tracking signals are used to control the adaptation of null-processing noise cancellation modules. A noise cancelled primary acoustic signal and ILD based cluster tracking control signals are used during post filtering to adaptively generate a mask to be applied against a speech estimate signal.

A neural network is provided for recognition and enhancement of multi-channel sound signals received by multiple microphones, which need not be aligned in a linear array in a given environment. Directions and distances of sound sources may also be detected by the neural network without the need for a beamformer connected to the microphones. The neural network may be trained by knowledge gained from free-field array impulse responses obtained in an anechoic chamber, array impulse responses that model simulated environments of different reverberation times, and array impulse responses obtained in actual environments.

A speaker array and microphone arrays positioned on both sides of the speaker array are provided. A plurality of focal points each serving as a position of a talker are set in front of the microphone arrays respectively symmetrically with respect to a centerline of the speaker array, and a bundle of sound collecting beams is output toward the focal points. Difference values between sound collecting beams directed toward the focal points that are symmetrical with respect to the centerline are calculated to cancel sound components that detour from the speaker array to microphones. Then, it is estimated based on totals of squares of peak values of the difference values for a particular time period that the position of the talker is close to which one of the focal points, and the position of the talker is decided by comparing the totals of the squares of the peak values of the sound collecting beams directed to the focal points that are symmetrical mutually.

A method and apparatus for detecting microphone interference includes first and second built-in microphones producing first and second microphone signals. A first filter bank creates first high-frequency-band and first low-frequency-band signals from the first microphone signal. A second filter bank creates second high-frequency-band and second low-frequency-band signals from the second microphone signal. A first measurement calculator determines a high-frequency-band energy value from the first high-frequency-band signal and the second high-frequency-band signal when the first and second high-frequency-band signals' magnitudes exceeds predetermined thresholds. A second measurement calculator calculates a low-frequency-band energy value from the first low-frequency-band signal and the second low-frequency-band signal when the first and second low-frequency-band signals' magnitudes exceed predetermined thresholds. A logic control block, coupled to the first measurement calculator and the second measurement calculator, detects microphone interference and produces an output signal indicating microphone occlusion or wind noise.