Real-Time Audio Quality Assessment via Speech Comparison
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Solution Overview
Problem
Audio communications over dynamic transmission channels, such as wireless and internet-based networks, often lack effective feedback on audio quality, making it difficult to maintain high-quality transmissions throughout a call or multimedia session.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that evaluate the quality of an audio transmission channel in real-time by comparing speech characteristics at the sender's end with those received at the receiver's end, using phonemes and other speech features, and notifying participants if the quality degrades, allowing adjustments to be made during the call.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If complex transmission channel test systems are used to evaluate audio quality, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases and ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses speech recognition to create a digital copy or representation of the transmitted speech signal characteristics. By comparing the original speech features with the received speech features through recognition patterns, the system achieves quality measurement without requiring complex physical test equipment. The speech recognition engine creates a model of the transmission channel's effect on speech.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical/electrical test systems with a software-based speech recognition approach. Instead of using expensive test equipment to measure audio quality, the system uses computational algorithms to analyze speech patterns and determine transmission quality, substituting mechanical measurement systems with information processing.
2Measurement precision
If transmission channel testing is performed at a specific point in time, then measurement precision is improved for that moment, but reliability deteriorates because channels are dynamic throughout the call
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous quality assessment throughout the entire call duration. The speech recognition system operates continuously, analyzing speech signals in real-time as they are transmitted and received. This continuous monitoring ensures that quality issues are detected whenever they occur, providing reliable quality assurance for the dynamic transmission channel throughout the call.
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes baseline speech characteristics at the beginning of the call and continuously compares subsequent speech against this baseline. By having the reference speech patterns available in advance, the system can immediately detect deviations caused by channel degradation without waiting for separate testing.
3Device complexity
If no feedback is provided to speakers about audio quality, then device complexity is reduced, but loss of information increases because speakers cannot adjust to quality issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the speech recognition system analyzes the received speech quality and provides information back to the communication system. This feedback enables the system to identify transmission problems and notify users, allowing them to take corrective actions such as adjusting their speech or reconnecting, thereby reducing information loss due to poor transmission quality.
Data Source
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AI summary
A device, system and method for audio transmission quality assessment that occurs during the transmission. A transmission channel such as the internet is used to transmit speech that is spoken by a human speaker, captured at a first end, and transmitted over the transmission channel for reproduction at a second end. The processors at each end of the transmission channel are configured to determine one or more characteristics of the speech such as phonemes. The phonemes are transmitted over a backchannel of the transmission channel to a processor that compares the speech characteristics that were determined at both ends of the call. The participants are notified of a transmission problem that has had an effect on the intelligibility of the speech that was reproduced at the far end if the comparison does not meet a predetermined quality metric.