Real-Time Speech Impairment Correction via Audio Artifact Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing audio processing systems do not effectively eliminate speech artifacts associated with impairments such as stuttering, lisps, and vocal ticks from speech signals, which are involuntary and intended to be corrected in real-time.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that capture and analyze audio signals to identify impairment artifacts, modify the signals to eliminate these artifacts, and provide the corrected audio in real-time, using a receiver module, analysis module, and modifier module within a computer system, allowing for the correction of speech impairments like stuttering, Tourette Syndrome, and lisping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If audio processing systems attempt to correct speech artifacts associated with impairments such as stuttering, lisps, and vocal ticks, then speech quality and naturalness are improved, but system complexity and difficulty of detecting and measuring these artifacts increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the audio signal into small frames (e.g., 20-50 milliseconds) and processes each frame independently to identify speech artifacts. This segmentation allows the system to detect transient artifacts like stutters and vocal ticks by analyzing local spectral and temporal characteristics without being overwhelmed by the entire speech signal at once.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs intermediary processing stages including spectral analysis, artifact detection algorithms, and correction synthesis that act as mediators between the raw speech signal and the final corrected output. These intermediary components break down the complex task of artifact removal into manageable processing steps, each handling specific aspects of artifact detection and correction.
2Productivity
If real-time correction of speech impairments is implemented, then communication effectiveness is improved, but processing time and computational requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary analysis of the speech signal characteristics during quiet periods or between artifacts to pre-compute reference models and detection thresholds. This preliminary action allows the real-time correction process to proceed more efficiently by having pre-established parameters for artifact detection and correction, reducing the computational burden during active speech processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses lightweight processing algorithms that can quickly skip through audio frames, applying full analysis only when artifact indicators are detected. During normal speech segments without artifacts, the system rushes through processing with minimal computation, reserving more intensive analysis for frames containing speech impairments, thereby maintaining real-time performance while improving communication effectiveness.
Data Source
AI summary
Automatic correcting of user's speech impairment in speech may include obtaining the audio signal of a given user's speech, and analyzing the obtained audio signal to identify artifacts caused by the user's impairment. The obtained audio signal may be modified by eliminating the identified artifacts from it. The modified audio signal may be provided, e.g., to be played or broadcast or transmitted.