Speech Morphing System Preserving Paralinguistic Features
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current communication systems convert speech into text but fail to extract and preserve paralinguistic characteristics, leading to ambiguity and potential miscommunication when converting back into speech.
Innovation Solution
A communication system that includes an automatic speech recognizer to convert speech into text, a speech analyzer to extract paralinguistic characteristics, and a speech output device to generate output speech based on these characteristics and phonemes, ensuring the preservation of original speech traits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If speech is converted into text using current communication systems, then text output is achieved, but paralinguistic characteristics are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the speech processing task into distinct functional modules: an automatic speech recognizer for text conversion, a speech analyzer for extracting paralinguistic characteristics (pitch, tone, volume, speech rate), and a speech output device for synthesis. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in preserving specific aspects of the original speech without requiring a single complex system to handle everything simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The speech analyzer performs preliminary extraction of paralinguistic characteristics from the speech signal before the text conversion process completes. By capturing pitch, tone, volume, and speech rate information in advance, the system ensures these characteristics are available for preservation during the text-to-speech synthesis phase, preventing information loss.
2Reliability
If paralinguistic characteristics are extracted and preserved, then speech accuracy and context are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The speech output device is designed as a multi-functional component that performs both standard text-to-speech conversion and paralinguistic characteristic synthesis. By making the output device universal, the system can handle both basic speech reconstruction and detailed emotional/contextual preservation without requiring separate specialized devices, thus managing complexity while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The speech analyzer acts as an intermediary component between the automatic speech recognizer and the speech output device. It extracts and processes paralinguistic characteristics, transforming raw speech signals into structured data that can be effectively utilized by the output device. This intermediary role simplifies the overall system architecture by creating a clear interface between recognition and synthesis functions.
3Productivity
If speech is converted to text without paralinguistic characteristics, then processing speed is maintained, but communication clarity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains continuous processing by operating the speech analyzer, automatic speech recognizer, and speech output device in parallel or overlapping timeframes. While the speech analyzer extracts paralinguistic characteristics continuously, the speech recognizer processes the audio signal, and the output device prepares synthesis, ensuring that no useful action is interrupted and processing speed is maintained despite the added complexity of characteristic extraction.
Data Source
AI summary
A communication system is described. The communication system including an automatic speech recognizer configured to receive a speech signal and to convert the speech signal into a text sequence. The communication system also including a speech analyzer configured to receive the speech signal. The speech analyzer configured to extract paralinguistic characteristics from the speech signal. In addition, the communication system includes a voice analyzer configured to receive the speech signal. The voice analyzer configured to generate one or more phonemes based on the speech signal. The communication system includes a speech output device coupled with the automatic speech recognizer, the speech analyzer and the voice analyzer. The speech output device configured to convert the text sequence into an output speech signal based on the extracted paralinguistic characteristics and said one or more phonemes.