Acoustic enhancement by leveraging metadata to mitigate the impact of noisy environments

• US 9,779,752 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2014
• Issued: 10/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2014
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bowen, Donald J., Dimitriadis, Dimitrios B., Ji, Lusheng, Schroeter, Horst J.
• Primary Examiner(s): ROBERTS, SHAUN A
• Application Number:
  US14/530,017
• Publication Number:
  US 20160125892A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,068 Days
• Field of Search: 704226, 704233
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/20 Speech recognition techniques specially adapted for robustness in adverse environments, e.g. in noise, of stress induced speech G10L21/02 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/0208 Noise filtering

Abstract

A system for cloud acoustic enhancement is disclosed. In particular, the system may leverage metadata and cloud-computing network resources to mitigate the impact of noisy environments that may potentially interfere with user communications. In order to do so, the system may receive an audio stream including an audio signal associated with a user, and determine if the audio stream also includes an interference signal. The system may determine that the audio stream includes the interference signal if a portion of the audio stream correlates with metadata that identifies the interference signal. If the audio stream is determined to include the interference signal, the system may cancel the interference signal from the audio stream by utilizing the metadata and the cloud-computing network resources. Once the interference signal is cancelled, the system may transmit the audio stream including the audio signal associated with the user to an intended destination.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a memory that stores instructions;

a processor that executes the instructions to perform operations, the operations comprising;

receiving an audio stream;

determining if the audio stream includes an interference signal, wherein the audio stream is determined to include the interference signal if a first portion of the audio stream correlates with metadata that identifies the interference signal;

determining that a second portion of the audio stream includes an audio signal associated with a user based on detecting a speech pattern corresponding to the user in the audio stream;

obtaining orientation data corresponding to a device of the user;

cancelling, if the audio stream is determined to include the interference signal, the interference signal from the audio stream, wherein the interference signal is cancelled from the audio stream by utilizing the metadata, the orientation data, and a location of an interferer utilizing an interfering device that outputted the interference signal, wherein the interference signal is cancelled based on a noise profile identifying a type of the interfering device that outputted the interference signal and indicating a pattern of usage of the interfering device by the interferer utilizing the interfering device; and

transmitting, after cancelling the interference signal, the audio stream including the audio signal associated with the user to an intended destination.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise determining an environment associated with the user based on the audio stream including audio information correlating with a noise profile for the environment.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the operations further comprise cancelling the interference signal based on the noise profile for the environment.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise obtaining a usage pattern associated with the device of the user, and wherein the operations further comprise cancelling the interference signal based on the usage pattern.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise determining that the audio stream includes the interference signal if the first portion of the audio stream correlates with an interferer identifier associated with the metadata.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise obtaining sensor data from a sensor of the device associated with the user.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the operations further comprise identifying an acoustic parameter based on the sensor data, and wherein the operations further comprise cancelling the interference signal by utilizing the acoustic parameter.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting the audio stream to an automated speech recognition system after cancelling the interference signal.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise enabling the device associated with the user to assist in cancelling the interference signal.

10. A method, comprising:

receiving an audio stream;

determining, by utilizing instructions from memory that are executed by a processor, if the audio stream includes an interference signal, wherein the audio stream is determined to include the interference signal if a first portion of the audio stream correlates with metadata that identifies the interference signal;

determining that a second portion of the audio stream includes an audio signal associated with a user based on detecting a speech pattern corresponding to the user in the audio stream;

obtaining orientation data corresponding to a device of the user;

cancelling, if the audio stream is determined to include the interference signal, the interference signal from the audio stream, wherein the interference signal is cancelled from the audio stream by utilizing the metadata, the orientation data, and a location of an interferer utilizing an interfering device that outputted the interference signal, wherein the interference signal is cancelled based on a noise profile identifying a type of the interfering device that outputted the interference signal and indicating a pattern of usage of the interfering device by the interferer utilizing the interfering device; and

transmitting, after cancelling the interference signal, the audio stream including the audio signal associated with the user to an intended destination.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising determining an environment associated with the user based on the audio stream including audio information correlating with a noise profile for the environment.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising cancelling the interference signal based on the noise profile for the environment.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising obtaining a usage pattern associated with the device of the user, and further comprising cancelling the interference signal based on the usage pattern.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising determining that the audio stream includes the interference signal if the first portion of the audio stream correlates with an interferer identifier in the metadata.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising obtaining sensor data from a sensor of the device associated with the user.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising identifying an acoustic parameter based on the sensor data, and further comprising cancelling the interference signal by utilizing the acoustic parameter.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising transmitting the audio stream to an automated speech recognition system after cancelling the interference signal.

18. The method of claim 10, further comprising enabling the device associated with the user to assist in cancelling the interference signal.

19. The method of claim 10, further comprising adjusting a user profile associated with the user based on the metadata and based on information associated with the interference signal.

20. A computer-readable device comprising instructions, which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving an audio stream;

determining if the audio stream includes an interference signal, wherein the audio stream is determined to include the interference signal if a first portion of the audio stream correlates with metadata that identifies the interference signal;

determining that a second portion of the audio stream includes an audio signal associated with a user based on detecting a speech pattern corresponding to the user in the audio stream;

obtaining orientation data corresponding to a device of the user;

cancelling, if the audio stream is determined to include the interference signal, the interference signal from the audio stream, wherein the interference signal is cancelled from the audio stream by utilizing the metadata, the orientation data, and a location of an interferer utilizing an interfering device that outputted the interference signal, wherein the interference signal is cancelled based on a noise profile identifying a type of the interfering device that outputted the interference signal and indicating a pattern of usage of the interfering device by the interferer utilizing the interfering device; and

transmitting, after cancelling the interference signal, the audio stream including the audio signal associated with the user to an intended destination.