Audio Signal Segmentation for Speech Intelligibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Audio systems, such as home theater systems, often face challenges in making speech intelligible due to loud sounds or music scores in movie soundtracks, particularly affecting elderly or hearing-impaired users.
Innovation Solution
The method involves separating audio signals into speech and non-speech components using AI functionality, adjusting gains for each component to enhance speech intelligibility, and combining them to produce a processed audio signal that prioritizes clear speech when played through speakers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the audio signal is played as is, then the overall audio experience is maintained, but speech intelligibility deteriorates due to loud sounds or music scores obscuring speech
Solution Approach 1:
The audio signal is segmented into multiple components including speech, music, and sound effect components using AI-based separation. This allows independent processing of each component to enhance speech intelligibility while preserving other audio elements.
Solution Approach 2:
Different gain adjustments are applied to different audio components based on their type. Speech components receive gain enhancement while music and sound effects receive different processing, allowing localized optimization of speech clarity without uniformly affecting the entire audio signal.
2Reliability
If gain is provided to enhance speech component, then speech intelligibility is improved, but the volume of other audio components may be unbalanced
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts gains for different audio components based on real-time analysis of the audio signal characteristics. This allows the audio balance to adapt continuously, maintaining natural sound while enhancing speech intelligibility in varying audio environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes multiple audio parameters including gain, volume, and spatial positioning for different audio components. By coordinating these parameter changes, the system enhances speech clarity while maintaining overall audio balance and natural sound quality.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for processing audio signals can include receiving an audio signal and separating the audio signal into a first audio component and a second audio component. The method can further include providing a gain for each of the first and second audio components to result in a respective gain adjusted audio component. The method can further include combining the first and second gain adjusted audio components to provide a processed audio signal, with the gains of the first and second audio components being configured so that a selected one of the first and second audio components has improved intelligibility by a listener when the processed audio signal is converted into sound by a speaker.