Microphone Array Steering via Wireless Positioning Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current sound source localization systems in home automation are not accurate, especially in environments with noise, and require additional processing of audio data from areas without human activity, leading to inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilize wireless positioning data to estimate the location of a voice source before a trigger command is sent, steering a microphone array towards regions with high probability of user presence, combining voice data with wireless location data to improve accuracy and reduce unnecessary processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If sound source localization is performed using audio data from all regions, then the accuracy of voice detection is improved, but the energy consumption increases due to processing data from areas without human activity
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by using wireless positioning data to predict user location and pre-steer the microphone array before voice commands are issued. This preliminary positioning and steering prevents unnecessary processing of audio data from regions without human activity, thereby reducing energy consumption while maintaining accurate sound source localization when users are present.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies local quality by focusing audio processing resources specifically on regions where users are detected through wireless positioning data. Instead of uniformly processing all spatial regions, the microphone array steers selectively toward areas with high probability of user presence, optimizing energy efficiency while maintaining localization accuracy in relevant zones.
2Reliability
If audio data from all regions is processed, then the reliability of voice command detection is improved, but the processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary positioning using wireless location data to identify regions with high probability of user presence before voice commands are issued. This preliminary action allows the system to pre-configure the microphone array steering toward relevant regions, reducing the time required to process and analyze audio data while maintaining reliable voice command detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts and processes only the essential audio data from regions where users are detected through wireless positioning, excluding data from areas without human activity. This selective extraction reduces processing time while maintaining the reliability of voice command detection by focusing computational resources on relevant spatial regions.
3Measurement precision
If microphone array steering is performed continuously, then the accuracy of tracking moving audio sources is improved, but the energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic action by updating microphone array steering based on periodic wireless positioning updates and detected changes in user location or voice activity. Instead of continuous steering adjustments, the system refreshes its spatial configuration at intervals triggered by positioning updates or voice detection events, maintaining accurate tracking of moving audio sources while significantly reducing energy consumption compared to continuous operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies dynamics by making the microphone array steering adaptive and event-driven rather than static or continuous. The steering configuration dynamically adjusts based on real-time wireless positioning data and voice activity detection, optimizing energy efficiency by activating full steering functionality only when and where users are present, while maintaining accurate tracking of moving audio sources during active periods.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, an electronic device or customer-premise equipment, and a computer readable medium are disclosed for estimating a sound source. The method includes detecting, on an electronic device, voice data from a space; calculating, on the electronic device, an estimated voice source location from the detected voice data; detecting, on the electronic device, wireless location data from a positioning system within the space; calculating, on the electronic device, a probability of a user within one or more regions from the calculated estimated voice source location and the detected wireless location data, the one or more regions being regions of a plurality of regions within the space; and steering, from the electronic device, a microphone array for voice detection toward the one or more regions having the probability of the user within the one or more regions.