VOICE ANALYSIS DEVICE, VOICE ANALYSIS METHOD, VOICE ANALYSIS PROGRAM, AND SYSTEM INTEGRATION CIRCUIT

• US 20100094633A1
• Filed: 03/13/2008
• Published: 04/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kawanishi, Ryouichi, Kawamura, Takashi
• Granted Patent: US 8,478,587 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/270
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/02 Feature extraction for speech recognition; Selection of recognition unit

Abstract

A sound analysis device comprises: a sound parameter calculation unit operable to acquire an audio signal and calculate a sound parameter for each of partial audio signals, the partial audio signals each being the acquired audio signal in a unit of time; a category determination unit operable to determine, from among a plurality of environmental sound categories, which environmental sound category each of the partial audio signals belongs to, based on a corresponding one of the calculated sound parameters; a section setting unit operable to sequentially set judgement target sections on a time axis as time elapses, each of the judgment target sections including two or more of the units of time, the two or more of the units of time being consecutive; and an environment judgment unit operable to judge, based on a number of partial audio signals in each environmental sound category determined in at least a most recent judgment target section, an environment that surrounds the sound analysis device in at least the most recent judgment target section.

Claims

1. A sound analysis device comprising:

a sound parameter calculation unit operable to acquire an audio signal and calculate a sound parameter for each of partial audio signals, the partial audio signals each being the acquired audio signal in a unit of time;

a category determination unit operable to determine, from among a plurality of environmental sound categories, which environmental sound category each of the partial audio signals belongs to, based on a corresponding one of the calculated sound parameters;

a section setting unit operable to sequentially set judgement target sections on a time axis as time elapses, each of the judgment target sections including two or more of the units of time, the two or more of the units of time being consecutive; and

an environment judgment unit operable to judge, based on a number of partial audio signals in each environmental sound category determined in at least a most recent judgment target section, an environment that surrounds the sound analysis device in at least the most recent judgment target section.

2. The sound analysis device of claim 1 wherein

the environment judgment unit includes a calculation unit operable to calculate category occupancies based on a number of partial audio signals in each environmental sound category determined in the most recent judgment target section, each of the category occupancies indicating a percentage of occupancy of a different one of the environmental sound categories in the most recent judgment target section, and

the judgment of the environment based on the number of partial audio signals in each environmental sound category determined in the most recent judgment target section is performed by determining an environmental sound category having a highest category occupancy among the category occupancies.

3. The sound analysis device of claim 1 wherein

the environment judgment unit includes a calculation unit operable to calculate, for each of the judgment target sections, category occupancies each indicating a percentage of occupancy of a different one of environmental sound categories in the judgment target section, and

the judgment of the environment based on the number of partial audio signals in each environmental sound category determined in at least the most recent judgment target section is performed by determining whether or not a rate of change between (i) category occupancies in the most recent judgment target section and (ii) category occupancies in a preceding judgment target section is greater than a predetermined threshold value.

4. The sound analysis device of claim 1, further comprising:

a power spectrum calculation unit operable to calculate a power spectrum of the audio signal; and

a displacement judgment unit operable to detect temporal displacement of the power spectrum calculated by the power spectrum calculation unit and judge whether or not a value of the detected temporal displacement is greater than a predetermined threshold value, wherein

the section setting unit sets the judgment target sections such that (i) a first time point at which the displacement judgment unit has judged affirmatively is an end point of a preceding judgment target section as well as a start point of the most recent judgment target section and (ii) a second time point at which the displacement judgment unit judges affirmatively next is an end point of the most recent judgment target section as well as a start point of a judgment target section subsequent to the most recent judgment target section.

5. The sound analysis device of claim 3 wherein

the preceding judgment target section and the most recent judgment target section that are set by the section setting unit partially overlap each other, and

the environment judgment unit further detects, when the rate of change is greater than the predetermined threshold value, a predetermined time point of either the most recent judgment target section or the preceding judgment target section, and sets the predetermined time point as a time point at which the environment is changed.

6. The sound analysis device of claim 1, further comprising:

a movement detection unit operable to detect movement information indicating a movement of a user of the sound analysis device;

a movement judgment unit operable to judge whether or not the user is moving based on the movement information; and

a control unit operable to prevent the environment judgment unit from judging the environment when the movement judgment unit judges negatively, and permit the environment judgment unit to judge the environment when the movement judgment unit judges affirmatively.

7. The sound analysis device of claim 5 wherein

each of the environmental sound categories is related to transportation, and

the sound analysis device further comprises:

a movement detection unit operable to detect movement information indicating a movement of a user of the sound analysis device; and

a selection unit operable to select, from among the plurality of environmental sound categories, at least one environmental sound category as a candidate for transportation of the user, based on the movement information detected by the movement detection unit, wherein

in a case where the at least one environmental sound category selected by the selection unit is changed between the most recent judgment target section and the preceding judgment target section, the environment judgment unit further detects the predetermined time point as the time point at which the environment is changed.

8. The sound analysis device of claim 5 wherein

each of the environmental sound categories is related to transportation, and

the sound analysis device further comprises:

a position information detection unit operable to detect position information indicating a position of a user of the sound analysis device;

a storage unit storing therein map information; and

a selection unit operable to select, from among the plurality of environmental sound categories, at least one environmental sound category as a candidate for transportation of the user, based on the position information detected by the position information detection unit and the map information, wherein

in a case where the at least one environmental sound category selected by the selection unit is changed between the most recent judgment target section and the preceding judgment target section, the environment judgment unit further detects the predetermined time point as the time point at which the environment is changed.

9. The sound analysis device of claim 5 wherein

each of the environmental sound categories is related to transportation, and

the sound analysis device further comprises:

a position information detection unit operable to detect position information indicating a position of a user of the sound analysis device;

a speed estimation unit operable to estimate speed by acquiring the position information at predetermined intervals and calculating a distance between each two adjacent time points; and

a selection unit operable to select, from among the plurality of environmental sound categories, at least one environmental sound category as a candidate for transportation of the user, based on the speed estimated by the speed estimation unit, wherein

in a case where the at least one environmental sound category selected by the selection unit is changed between the most recent judgment target section and the preceding judgment target section, the environment judgment unit further detects the predetermined time point as the time point at which the environment is changed.

10. The sound analysis device of claim 5 wherein

each of the environmental sound categories is related to transportation, and the time point at which the environment is changed and that is detected by the environment judgment unit is a time point at which transportation of a user is changed.

11. A sound analysis method comprising the steps of:

acquiring an audio signal and calculating a sound parameter for each of partial audio signals, the partial audio signals each being the acquired audio signal in a unit of time;

determining, from among a plurality of environmental sound categories, which environmental sound category each of the partial audio signals belongs to, based on a corresponding one of the calculated sound parameters;

sequentially setting judgement target sections on a time axis as time elapses, each of the judgment target sections including two or more of the units of time, the two or more of the units of time being consecutive; and

judging, based on a number of partial audio signals in each environmental sound category determined in at least a most recent judgment target section, an environment that surrounds the sound analysis device in at least the most recent judgment target section.

12. A computer-readable sound analysis program for causing a computer to perform the steps of:

acquiring an audio signal and calculating a sound parameter for each of partial audio signals, the partial audio signals each being the acquired audio signal in a unit of time;

determining, from among a plurality of environmental sound categories, which environmental sound category each of the partial audio signals belongs to, based on a corresponding one of the calculated sound parameters;

sequentially setting judgement target sections on a time axis as time elapses, each of the judgment target sections including two or more of the units of time, the two or more of the units of time being consecutive; and

judging, based on a number of partial audio signals in each environmental sound category determined in at least a most recent judgment target section, an environment that surrounds the sound analysis device in at least the most recent judgment target section.

13. A system integrated circuit provided in a sound analysis device comprising:

a sound parameter calculation unit operable to acquire an audio signal and calculate a sound parameter for each of partial audio signals, the partial audio signals each being the acquired audio signal in a unit of time;

a category determination unit operable to determine, from among a plurality of environmental sound categories, which environmental sound category each of the partial audio signals belongs to, based on a corresponding one of the calculated sound parameters;

a section setting unit operable to sequentially set judgement target sections on a time axis as time elapses, each of the judgment target sections including two or more of the units of time, the two or more of the units of time being consecutive; and

an environment judgment unit operable to judge, based on a number of partial audio signals in each environmental sound category determined in at least a most recent judgment target section, an environment that surrounds the sound analysis device in at least the most recent judgment target section.