SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING A SELF-STEERING BEAMFORMER

• US 20170325020A1
• Filed: 12/12/2014
• Published: 11/09/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Wolff, Tobias, Buck, Markus
• Granted Patent: US 10,924,846 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2021/02165 Two microphones, one receiving mainly the noise signal and the other one mainly the speech signal
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2021/02166 Microphone arrays; Beamforming
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/0208 Noise filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/0216 characterised by the method used for estimating noise
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/0272 Voice signal separating
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/245 of microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/406 microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2410/07 Mechanical or electrical reduction of wind noise generated by wind passing a microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2430/23 Direction finding using a sum-delay beam-former
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2430/25 Array processing for suppression of unwanted side-lobes in directivity characteristics, e.g. a blocking matrix

Abstract

A system and method for generating a self-steering beamformer is provided. Embodiments may include receiving, at one or more microphones, a first audio signal and adapting one or more blocking filters based upon, at least in part, the first audio signal. Embodiments may also include generating, using the one or more blocking filters, one or more noise reference signals. Embodiments may further include providing the one or more noise reference signals to an adaptive interference canceller to reduce a beamformer output power level.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, at one or more microphones, a first audio signal;

adapting one or more blocking filters based upon, at least in part, the first audio signal;

generating, using the one or more blocking filters, one or more noise reference signals; and

providing the one or more noise reference signals to an adaptive interference canceller to reduce a beamformer output power level.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein a speech component of at least one of the one or more microphones is undistorted.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more blocking filters are configured to perform beamsteering and signal blocking.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more blocking filters are configured to act as phase and amplitude alignment filters.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more microphones include differing channel amplitudes.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more blocking filters do not include a steering angle input.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the beamsteering and signal blocking are performed simultaneously.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein adapting includes one or more filter adaptation algorithms.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the one or more filter adaptation algorithms includes a normalized least-mean squares algorithm.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more blocking filters uses a primary channel as an input to estimate a signal in a secondary channel.

11. A system comprising:

one or more microphones; and

one or more processors configured to receive a first audio signal, the one or more processors configured to adapt one or more blocking filters based upon, at least in part, the first audio signal, the one or more processors further configured to generate, using the one or more blocking filters, one or more noise reference signals, the one or more processors further configured to provide the one or more noise reference signals to an adaptive interference canceller to reduce a beamformer output power level.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein a speech component of at least one of the one or more microphones is undistorted.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more blocking filters are configured to perform beamsteering and signal blocking.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more blocking filters are configured to act as phase and amplitude alignment filters.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more microphones include differing channel amplitudes.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more blocking filters do not include a steering angle input.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the beamsteering and signal blocking are performed simultaneously.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein adapting includes one or more filter adaptation algorithms.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the one or more filter adaptation algorithms includes a normalized least-mean squares algorithm.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more blocking filters uses a primary channel as an input to estimate a signal in a secondary channel.