Selective audio source enhancement

• US 9,654,894 B2
• Filed: 10/06/2014
• Issued: 05/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Conexant Systems Incorporated (Synaptics Incorporated)
• Inventors: Thormundsson, Trausti, Nesta, Francesco, Wu, Willie
• Primary Examiner(s): HOLDER, REGINA NEAL
• Application Number:
  US14/507,662
• Publication Number:
  US 20150117649A1
• Time in Patent Office: 953 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2021/02161 Number of inputs available containing the signal or the noise to be suppressed
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2021/02166 Microphone arrays; Beamforming
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/0208 Noise filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/0272 Voice signal separating
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2430/03 Synergistic effects of band splitting and sub-band processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 2400/15 Aspects of sound capture and related signal processing for recording or reproduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 2420/07 Synergistic effects of band splitting and sub-band processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/305 Electronic adaptation of stereophonic audio signals to reverberation of the listening space H04S7/301 takes precedence

Abstract

A selective audio source enhancement system includes a processor and a memory, and a pre-processing unit configured to receive audio data including a target audio signal, and to perform sub-band domain decomposition of the audio data to generate buffered outputs. In addition, the system includes a target source detection unit configured to receive the buffered outputs, and to generate a target presence probability corresponding to the target audio signal, as well as a spatial filter estimation unit configured to receive the target presence probability, and to transform frames buffered in each sub-band into a higher resolution frequency-domain. The system also includes a spectral filtering unit configured to retrieve a multichannel image of the target audio signal and noise signals associated with the target audio signal, and an audio synthesis unit configured to extract an enhanced mono signal corresponding to the target audio signal from the multichannel image.

Claims

1. A selective audio source enhancement system comprising:

a system processor and a system memory, the system memory including;

a pre-processing unit controlled by the system processor to receive audio data including a target audio signal and at least one noise signal, and to perform sub-band domain decomposition of the audio data to generate a plurality of buffered outputs;

a target source detection unit controlled by the system processor to receive the plurality of buffered outputs, and to generate a target presence probability corresponding to the target audio signal;

a spatial filter estimation unit controlled by the system processor to receive the target presence probability, transform frames buffered in each sub-band into a higher resolution frequency-domain, and update the spatial filters in the higher resolution frequency-domain, wherein the target signal and the at least one noise signal are estimated in the same adaptation;

a spectral filtering unit controlled by the system processor to retrieve a multichannel image of the target audio signal and the at least one noise signal; and

an audio synthesis unit controlled by the system processor to extract an enhanced mono signal corresponding to the target audio signal from the multichannel image.

2. The selective audio source enhancement system of claim 1, wherein the target source detection unit is further configured to generate the target presence probability based on non-audio data received from an input system external to the selective audio source enhancement system.

3. The selective audio source enhancement system of claim 2, wherein the non-audio data identifies when a source of the target audio signal is producing an audio output.

4. The selective audio source enhancement system of claim 2, wherein the non-audio data comprises video data.

5. The selective audio source enhancement system of claim 1, wherein the selective audio source enhancement system is further configured to perform non-uniform spatial filter length estimation in each sub-band, based on memory resources available to the system memory.

6. The selective audio source enhancement system of claim 1, wherein the selective audio source enhancement system is further configured to perform non-uniform spatial filter length estimation in each sub-band, based on processor resources available to the system processor.

7. The selective audio source enhancement system of claim 1, wherein the selective audio source enhancement system is further configured to perform non-uniform spatial filter length estimation based on a supervised independent component analysis (ICA) of a target beam.

8. The selective audio source enhancement system of claim 1, wherein the pre-processing unit is further configured to perform decomposition of the audio data as an undersampled complex valued decomposition using variable length sub-band buffering.

9. The selective audio source enhancement system of claim 1, wherein the target audio signal is produced by a human voice.

10. The selective audio source enhancement system of claim 1, wherein the selective audio source enhancement system is further configured to selectively recognize a source of the target audio signal that is in motion relative to the selective audio source enhancement system.

11. A method for use by a selective audio source enhancement system including a system processor and a system memory, the method comprising:

pre-processing, by a pre-processing unit stored in the system memory and controlled by the system processor, received audio data including a target audio signal and at least one noise signal by performing sub-band domain decomposition of the audio data to generate a plurality of buffered outputs;

generating, by a target source detection unit stored in the system memory and controlled by the system processor, a target presence probability corresponding to the target audio signal based on the plurality of buffered outputs;

receiving, by a spatial filter estimation unit stored in the system memory and controlled by the system processor, the target presence probability, and transforming frames buffered in each sub-band into a higher resolution frequency-domain, wherein the target signal and the at least one noise signal are estimated in the same adaptation;

retrieving, by a spectral filtering unit stored in the system memory and controlled by the system processor, a multichannel image of the target audio signal and the at least one noise signal; and

extracting, by an audio synthesis unit stored in the system memory and controlled by the system processor, an enhanced mono signal corresponding to the target audio signal from the multichannel image.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein generating the target presence probability is further based on non-audio data received from an input system external to the selective audio source enhancement system.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the non-audio data identifies when a source of the target audio signal is producing an audio output.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the non-audio data comprises video data.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising performing non-uniform spatial filter length estimation in each sub-band, based on memory resources available to the system memory.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising performing non-uniform spatial filter length estimation in each sub-band, based on processor resources available to the system processor.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising performing non-uniform spatial filter length estimation based on a supervised independent component analysis (ICA).

18. The method of claim 11, wherein pre-processing the received audio data includes performing decomposition of the audio data as an undersampled complex valued decomposition using variable length sub-band buffering.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the target audio signal is produced by a human voice.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the selective audio source enhancement system is configured to selectively recognize a source of the target audio signal that is in motion relative to the selective audio source enhancement system.