Vehicle Audio Processing for Multi-Occupant Speech Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In vehicles, multiple occupants speaking simultaneously can confuse digital assistants, leading to incorrect or no response when attempting to issue voice commands for controlling vehicle systems.
Innovation Solution
An audio processing system with microphones and a vehicle computer that uses transfer functions to separate speech signals from different occupants by measuring and processing audio signals, allowing the system to isolate and correctly respond to specific commands.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If multiple occupants speak simultaneously in a vehicle, then the audio signal contains more information, but the digital assistant cannot correctly interpret the command
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the mixed audio signal from multiple occupants into separate speech streams by identifying different sound sources and their spatial locations. The audio processing system divides the composite signal into individual occupant speech signals based on acoustic characteristics and microphone array spatial information, allowing the digital assistant to process each speech stream separately and accurately identify the intended command.
2Reliability
If the audio processing system separates speech signals from multiple occupants, then the command interpretation accuracy improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal audio processing system that performs multiple functions: it processes audio signals from multiple microphones, separates speech streams from different occupants, identifies speaker locations, and provides inputs to the digital assistant. This multi-functional approach consolidates what could be multiple separate systems into a single integrated audio processing unit, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining high voice command recognition 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
Effectively isolates speech signals from multiple occupants, enabling accurate interpretation and response to voice commands, improving the reliability of voice-controlled vehicle systems.
Implementation Method 1
a first microphone (A) and a second microphone (B), each of which are configured to pickup or measure audio from sources
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure describes systems and methods for processing audio signals in a vehicle to perform sound source separation. The sound source separation is performed using transfer functions and involves separation of the speech of multiple occupants. The separated speech can be used to isolate and correctly respond to a command to control vehicle systems.