Echo Cancellation Pre-Configuration for Immediate Call Audio Cleanup
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing real-time communication technologies face challenges in providing immediate echo cancellation, as users often experience poor audio quality due to echo effects during initial communication sessions, as existing echo cancellation algorithms require manual enablement and take significant time to effectively reduce or remove echo.
Innovation Solution
The technology automatically detects the need for echo cancellation by using a sample audio file to determine echo characteristics and initializes parameters for the echo cancellation algorithm, enabling immediate echo cancellation at the start of a communication session without user intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If echo cancellation is manually enabled and initialized during a communication session, then echo cancellation functionality is provided, but there is a significant lag time (half a minute or more) before echo is effectively reduced or removed
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary echo cancellation parameter initialization by playing a sample audio file through the loudspeaker, capturing it with the microphone, and computing echo parameters (delay, gain, frequency characteristics) before the actual communication session begins. This preliminary action provides pre-computed parameters that can be immediately applied when the communication session starts, eliminating the lag time otherwise required for real-time parameter computation.
2Ease of operation
If echo cancellation algorithms are used without preliminary parameter initialization, then the system remains simple and responsive, but users experience poor audio quality during the initial period of the communication session
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically performs preliminary echo parameter initialization by capturing the sample audio file playback and computing echo characteristics before the communication session. This automatic preliminary action ensures that when the session begins, the echo cancellation algorithm is already configured with accurate parameters, providing immediate high-quality audio without requiring user intervention or manual enabling.
3Loss of time
If the system performs preliminary echo parameter initialization using a sample audio file, then immediate echo cancellation is achieved at the start of communication sessions, but additional processing time and computational resources are required
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs the computationally intensive task of echo parameter computation in advance, during system initialization or before the communication session begins. By playing a sample audio file and capturing it through the audio devices, the system pre-computes delay, gain, and frequency characteristics that would otherwise need to be calculated in real-time during the session. This shifts the computational burden to a preliminary phase, enabling immediate echo cancellation without real-time processing delays.
Data Source
AI summary
A determination to enable echo cancellation is made in advance of a real-time communication session. A model sample audio file stored in memory on the computer system is played through a loudspeaker connected with the computer system. The sound generated by the loudspeaker is captured by a microphone connected with the computer system to create a captured audio signal. The captured audio signal is correlated with the sample audio signal to determine the presence of any echo effect in the captured audio signal. Characteristics of any echo in the captured audio signal, for example, frequency, delay, and gain, are parameterized and stored as initial values for use by the echo cancellation algorithm. The stored parameters are used by the echo cancellation algorithm at the initiation of a communication session until the algorithm receives enough real-time information to make any necessary ongoing adjustments.