Speech-Aware Multichannel Gain Control for In-Car Dialogue Loudness
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Solution Overview
Problem
In noisy environments, such as vehicles, audio signals with varying signal levels and speech components often result in insufficient loudness perception of dialogues, especially in multichannel audio playback, where different tracks have different dynamics and noise levels, posing challenges in maintaining audible speech without causing hearing damage.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that dynamically adapt the gain of N-channel audio input signals by determining perceived loudness and presence of speech components, using separate gain control units to adjust the signal levels of speech and other audio channels within predefined ranges, with different gain parameters to enhance speech intelligibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the overall audio signal level is increased to exceed vehicle noise, then speech intelligibility improves, but hearing damage risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different gain parameters to different audio channels based on their content type. Speech channels receive a first gain parameter while music channels receive a second gain parameter, allowing localized optimization of each channel's loudness to ensure speech intelligibility without uniformly increasing all audio levels to dangerous extremes
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts gain parameters based on detected speech presence and current audio levels. When speech is detected in noisy environments, the first gain parameter increases speech channel levels to ensure intelligibility. The system continuously monitors and adapts these parameters to maintain speech clarity while preventing overall levels from exceeding safe listening thresholds
2Reliability
If different gain parameters are applied to speech and music channels, then speech perception improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The audio signal is segmented into different channel types (speech channels and music channels) based on content detection. Separate gain control units are assigned to each segment type, allowing independent optimization. This segmentation enables the system to apply targeted processing to speech channels without unnecessarily complicating the processing of music channels
Solution Approach 2:
The gain control system uses a universal framework where multiple channels are processed through a common structure with loudness determination and speech detection units. The same basic architecture handles both speech and music channels, with only the gain parameters differing. This multi-functional approach reduces overall system complexity compared to having completely separate processing chains
Data Source
AI summary
A method for adapting a gain of at least one channel audio input signal in order to generate an N channel audio output signal, wherein at least one channel audio input signal includes a speech input channel, in which speech signal components, if present in the at least one channel audio input signal, are present, and comprising other audio input channels. A perceived loudness of the at least one channel audio input signal is dynamically determined and it is determined whether speech signal components are present in the speech input channel. If this is the case the gain of the speech input channel is adapted differently compared to the gain of the other audio input channels.