Voice-Controlled Audio Attenuation for Accurate Speech Recognition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automatic speech recognition (ASR) in voice-controlled devices is hindered by background noise and other audio signals present in the environment, making it difficult for devices to accurately identify voice commands.
Innovation Solution
The voice-controlled device alters its audio output by attenuating, pausing, or modifying the audio signal to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of subsequent audio signals captured by the device, thereby enhancing the accuracy of ASR.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If audio output is maintained at normal levels, then entertainment functionality is preserved, but automatic speech recognition accuracy deteriorates due to background noise interference
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of wake words or trigger phrases in the audio stream before initiating speech recognition. This allows the device to proactively prepare for ASR by detecting the intent to speak, enabling subsequent audio attenuation or processing to be applied at the optimal moment, thereby improving ASR accuracy without compromising overall audio output
Solution Approach 2:
The audio output level is dynamically adjusted based on the detected speech state. When speech is detected, the system temporarily attenuates or pauses audio output to improve SNR for ASR. After speech recognition completes, normal audio output resumes. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by making audio levels adaptive rather than static
2Measurement precision
If audio output is attenuated or paused to improve SNR, then ASR accuracy improves, but user entertainment experience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of completely pausing or significantly attenuating audio output, the system applies partial attenuation only to specific frequency ranges or time segments where speech is detected. This partial action is sufficient to improve voice command detection accuracy while minimizing disruption to the overall entertainment experience, as most audio content remains audible
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements periodic audio output with brief interruptions or volume reductions synchronized to speech detection events. Rather than continuous attenuation, audio is periodically restored to normal levels between speech events, maintaining entertainment continuity while enabling accurate speech recognition during designated speech periods
3Reliability
If audio processing is applied in real-time, then ASR accuracy improves, but computational complexity and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The audio processing system is segmented into independent modular components: wake word detection module, speech activity detection module, audio attenuation module, and speech recognition module. Each module operates independently with defined interfaces, allowing selective activation and optimization of processing stages based on detected conditions, thereby improving speech recognition reliability without requiring all components to operate simultaneously at full complexity
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for altering audio being output by a voice-controlled device, or another device, to enable more accurate automatic speech recognition (ASR) by the voice-controlled device. For instance, a voice-controlled device may output audio within an environment using a speaker of the device. While outputting the audio, a microphone of the device may capture sound within the environment and may generate an audio signal based on the captured sound. The device may then analyze the audio signal to identify speech of a user within the signal, with the speech indicating that the user is going to provide a subsequent command to the device. Thereafter, the device may alter the output of the audio (e.g., attenuate the audio, pause the audio, switch from stereo to mono, etc.) to facilitate speech recognition of the user's subsequent command.