Steering Wheel Microphone Noise Cancellation via Phase Difference
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle voice recognition systems face challenges in distinguishing the driver's voice from other voices and noise sources due to interference from road noise, car noise, and other occupants, which affects the reliability of voice recognition in automotive environments.
Innovation Solution
A steering wheel system equipped with two microphones positioned to receive audible inputs, where one microphone is mounted in the steering wheel and another in its vicinity, with a controller that identifies noise components by determining phase differences and cancels them out to isolate the driver's oral commands.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a single microphone is used in the vehicle, then the device complexity is low, but the ability to distinguish driver voice from noise is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the voice detection function into multiple microphones positioned at different locations (steering wheel, instrument panel, headliner). Each microphone captures audio from its specific position, and the controller segments the noise components based on their spatial characteristics and phase relationships to isolate the driver's voice.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple microphone inputs into a single processed audio signal. The controller merges the audio signals from multiple microphones, applying noise cancellation algorithms that combine the phase and amplitude information to enhance the driver's voice while suppressing background noise.
2Reliability
If multiple microphones are deployed throughout the vehicle, then the noise filtering capability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller acts as an intermediary that processes the raw audio signals from multiple microphones. It applies sophisticated algorithms to identify and cancel noise components while preserving the driver's voice, thereby improving voice recognition reliability without requiring complex hardware modifications at each microphone location.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameters of the audio signals by adjusting phase and amplitude relationships between microphone inputs. The controller dynamically modifies these parameters to enhance the driver's voice signal while suppressing noise, improving reliability through signal processing rather than hardware complexity.
3Measurement precision
If voice recognition is implemented without noise cancellation, then the system is simple, but the voice detection accuracy deteriorates in noisy environments
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies preliminary anti-action by using the out-of-phase noise signals captured by multiple microphones to create canceling waveforms. The controller processes the audio signals to identify noise components and generates anti-noise signals that are subtracted from the total audio input, thereby counteracting the harmful noise effects before voice recognition processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful noise effect into a beneficial filtering mechanism. By capturing noise from multiple positions with different phase relationships, the system uses the noise itself as a reference to identify and cancel it, transforming the harmful interference into useful information for noise cancellation and improving driver voice detection accuracy.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enhances the reliability of voice recognition by effectively filtering out noise, improving the clarity of the driver's voice commands and reducing distractions, allowing for hands-free control of vehicle systems and electronic devices.
Implementation Method 1
identifying the noise component by determining that the noise component received at the first microphone is out of phase with the noise component received at the second microphone
Implementation Method 2
canceling the noise component from the audible input
Data Source
AI summary
A steering wheel system for a vehicle includes a first microphone mounted in a steering wheel and a second microphone mounted in the vehicle. The first and second microphones are each configured to receive an audible input. The audible input includes an oral command component and a noise component. The steering wheel system also includes a controller configured to identify the noise component by determining that the noise component received at the first microphone is out of phase with the noise component received at the second microphone. The controller is configured to cancel the noise component from the audible input.