Adaptive directional audio enhancement and selection
First Claim
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1. A hands-free audio system, comprising:
- a speaker configured to generate audio based at least in part on a received output audio signal;
a microphone array comprising a plurality of spatially separated microphones, wherein an individual microphone of the plurality of spatially separated microphones produces a respective individual audio signal, wherein the respective individual audio signal potentially contains a near-end voice component and interference with respect to the near-end voice component, and wherein the interference comprises one or more of (a) an ambient noise component or (b) an acoustic echo component resulting from the audio;
one or more interference suppressors configured to produce processed audio signals by suppressing the interference in the individual audio signals based, at least in part on, a reference audio signal;
one or more audio beamformers, an individual beamformer of the one or more audio beamformers being configured to produce a directional audio signal based at least in part on the processed audio signals, wherein the directional audio signal emphasizes sound from a particular direction relative to the microphone array;
one or more voice activity detectors, wherein a voice activity detector of the one or more voice activity detectors is configured to detect at least one of a presence of the near-end voice component in the directional audio signal or a presence of a far-end voice component in the directional audio signal;
one or more signal energy measurers, wherein a signal energy measurer of the one or more signal energy measurers is configured to measure a signal energy of the directional audio signal; and
a signal selector configured to select the directional audio signal based at least in part on (a) the presence of the near-end voice component detected by the voice activity detector in the directional audio signal, (b) the presence of the far-end voice component detected by the voice activity detector in the directional audio signal, and (c) the signal energy measured by the signal energy measurer.
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Abstract
A hands-free audio device has a receive path and a transmit path, which may operate at different audio sampling rates. The transmit path has an interference suppressor that receives a reference signal from the receive path and that suppresses interference in microphone signals received from a microphone array. The interference suppressor is followed in the transmit path by a multi-channel adaptive beamformer that produce a plurality of directional audio signals. A beam selector is configured to select one of the directional audio signals based on voice activity, echo detection, and signal energy.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A hands-free audio system, comprising:
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a speaker configured to generate audio based at least in part on a received output audio signal; a microphone array comprising a plurality of spatially separated microphones, wherein an individual microphone of the plurality of spatially separated microphones produces a respective individual audio signal, wherein the respective individual audio signal potentially contains a near-end voice component and interference with respect to the near-end voice component, and wherein the interference comprises one or more of (a) an ambient noise component or (b) an acoustic echo component resulting from the audio; one or more interference suppressors configured to produce processed audio signals by suppressing the interference in the individual audio signals based, at least in part on, a reference audio signal; one or more audio beamformers, an individual beamformer of the one or more audio beamformers being configured to produce a directional audio signal based at least in part on the processed audio signals, wherein the directional audio signal emphasizes sound from a particular direction relative to the microphone array; one or more voice activity detectors, wherein a voice activity detector of the one or more voice activity detectors is configured to detect at least one of a presence of the near-end voice component in the directional audio signal or a presence of a far-end voice component in the directional audio signal; one or more signal energy measurers, wherein a signal energy measurer of the one or more signal energy measurers is configured to measure a signal energy of the directional audio signal; and a signal selector configured to select the directional audio signal based at least in part on (a) the presence of the near-end voice component detected by the voice activity detector in the directional audio signal, (b) the presence of the far-end voice component detected by the voice activity detector in the directional audio signal, and (c) the signal energy measured by the signal energy measurer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:
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suppressing, based at least in part on a reference audio signal, interference in a first audio signal received from a microphone array to produce a first processed audio signal, wherein the interference includes one or more of an echo component and an ambient noise component; suppressing, based at least in part on the reference audio signal, the interference in a second audio signal received from the microphone array to produce a second processed audio signal; producing directional audio signals based at least in part on the first processed audio signal and the second processed audio signal, wherein at least a first directional audio signal of the directional audio signals emphasizes sound from a particular direction relative to the microphone array; detecting a presence of far-end audio in the directional audio signals; determining a first signal energy of the first directional audio signal; determining a second signal energy of a second directional audio signal of the directional audio signals, wherein the second signal energy is greater than the first signal energy; and selecting the first directional audio signal based, at least in part, on detecting the presence of the far-end audio and the second signal energy being greater than the first signal energy. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method comprising:
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suppressing, based at least in part on a reference audio signal, interference in a first audio signal received from a microphone array to produce a first processed audio signal, wherein the interference includes one or more of an echo component and a noise component; suppressing, based at least in part on the reference audio signal, the interference in a second audio signal received from the microphone array to produce a second processed audio signal; producing directional audio signals based at least in part on the first processed audio signal and the second processed audio signal, wherein at least a first directional audio signal of the directional audio signals emphasizes sound from a particular direction relative to the microphone array; detecting a presence of far-end audio in the directional audio signals; determining a first signal energy of the first directional audio signal; determining a second signal energy of a second directional audio signal of the directional audio signals, wherein the second signal energy is greater than the first signal energy; and selecting the first directional audio signal from the directional audio signals based, at least in part, on detecting the presence of the far-end audio and the second signal energy being greater than the first signal energy. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification