SPEECH-PROCESSING APPARATUS AND SPEECH-PROCESSING METHOD

• US 20170092298A1
• Filed: 07/29/2016
• Published: 03/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Nakamura, Keisuke, Nakadai, Kazuhiro
• Granted Patent: US 10,002,623 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/80 using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/1754 Speech masking
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2025/783 based on threshold decision
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/0272 Voice signal separating
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/18 the extracted parameters being spectral information of each sub-band
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/84 for discriminating voice from noise
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/93 Discriminating between voiced and unvoiced parts of speech signals G10L25/90 takes precedence

Abstract

A speech-processing apparatus includes: a sound source localization unit that localizes a sound source based on an acquired speech signal; and a speech zone detection unit that performs speech zone detection based on localization information localized by the sound source localization unit.

Claims

1. A speech-processing apparatus, comprising:

a sound source localization unit that localizes a sound source based on an acquired speech signal; and

a speech zone detection unit that performs speech zone detection based on localization information localized by the sound source localization unit.

2. The speech-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the speech zone detection unit detects a speech start and a speech end based on localization information localized by the sound source localization unit.

3. The speech-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the speech zone detection unit detects a speech zone by using a plurality of threshold values with respect to a speech signal localized by the sound source localization unit.

4. The speech-processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the speech zone detection unit detects a sound source candidate by using a first threshold value of the plurality of threshold values with respect to a speech signal localized by the sound source localization unit, performs a clustering process on the detected sound source candidate, and detects a speech zone by using a second threshold value that is larger than the first threshold value of the plurality of threshold values for each cluster classified by the clustering process.

5. The speech-processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the speech zone detection unit detects a sound source candidate by using a second threshold value of the plurality of threshold values with respect to a speech signal localized by the sound source localization unit, performs a clustering process on the detected sound source candidate, and detects a speech zone by using a first threshold value that is smaller than the second threshold value of the plurality of threshold values for each cluster classified by the clustering process.

6. The speech-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the speech zone detection unit performs speech zone detection based on a gradient of a spatial spectrum of a speech signal localized by the sound source localization unit.

7. The speech-processing apparatus according to claim 1, comprising

a sound source separation unit that performs sound source separation based on the acquired speech signal and

a sound source identification unit that performs sound source identification based on a separation signal separated by the sound source separation unit, wherein

when the result identified by the sound source identification unit is speech, the speech zone detection unit detects that speech is continued in a zone.

8. The speech-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the speech zone detection unit detects a sound source candidate by using a threshold value with respect to a speech signal localized by the sound source localization unit, acquires event information indicating that an event which causes noise with respect to the speech signal is occurring, generates a mask for a sound source candidate detected by using the threshold value based on the acquired event information, and detects a speech zone by using the mask generated for the sound source candidate.

9. A speech-processing method, comprising:

(a) localizing, by way of a sound source localization unit, a sound source based on an acquired speech signal; and

(b) performing, by way of a speech zone detection unit, speech zone detection based on localization information localized in (a).