Auditory Cues based Speech Enhancement Processing Technology (ACSEPT)

Mayflower Communications has partnered with the Boston University Hearing Research Center to propose novel techniques for speech enhancement in reverberant environment based on advanced auditory modeling of higher-level processing in the human auditory brain. Speech enhancement or noise suppression has been an area of active research for well over three decades. State-of-the-art single-microphone methods have been shown to be adequate for reducing stationary background noise without introducing audible signal distortions; however, they cannot reduce non-stationary background noises, signal-correlated interferences like echoes and sound reflections in a reverberant environment or interfering background speakers, all of which can occur in real-world use scenarios. The development of the “Auditory Cues based Speech Enhancement Processing Technology” (ACSEPT) will address these and other shortcomings. It leverages existing, US Government-funded projects at Boston University as technical foundation; particularly the BU EarLab project. The EarLab is an auditory modeling environment that provides access to a wide range of models covering many aspects of the auditory function. This effort will specialize, enhance, and augment the EarLab capabilities to meet the desired auditory modeling objectives. Based on the output of the EarLab models, we will derive pertinent auditory cues based on principle of Auditory Scene Analysis which will then be used to identify, and later implement and demonstrate, novel techniques for efficient speech enhancement under conditions of noise and reverberation. BENEFIT: Dealing with speech production in high level of noise and reverberant environment affect our daily lives. Many common occurrence applications would benefit tremendously from technologies, such as ACSEPT, created to efficiently address this problem. The success of ACSEPT, based on mimicking the human brain auditory functions, could present a significant shift compared to the technologies being used today. The potential commercial applications are wide, especially if this technology could be successfully transitioned to the mobile voice communications user devices market; a viable target market for it. Today there are over 3 billion such device in use!