Collaborative distributed microphone array for conferencing/remote education

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11812236-B2
Application number	US-202117451834-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 22, 2021
Priority date	Oct 22, 2021
Publication date	Nov 7, 2023
Grant date	Nov 7, 2023

Abstract

A collaborative distributed microphone array is configured to perform or be used in sound quality operations. A distributed microphone array can be operated to provide sound quality operations including sound suppression operations and speech intelligibility operations for multiple users in the same environment.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
receiving sound information from a distributed microphone array that includes microphone arrays in an environment by an orchestration engine, wherein each of the microphone arrays is associated with a corresponding device and a corresponding user and wherein the distributed microphone array receives sound from the environment;
generating, by the orchestration engine, adjustments for each of the microphone arrays based on the sound information; and
providing, by the orchestration engine, the adjustments to the microphone arrays, wherein the adjustments are configured to improve at least noise suppression.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the adjustments are further configured to improve speech intelligibility.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising performing sound localization and sound extraction on the sound information and generating a sound map.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the adjustments are customized for each of the microphone arrays.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising synchronizing the sound information such that the sound information from each of the microphone arrays synchronized, wherein synchronizing includes accounting for delays including at least time or arrival delays, onset time delays, and internal microphone array delays.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the adjustments include adjustments to array parameters and an anti-noise signal.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the adjustments include positioning speakers that generate speech for the users.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising identifying a sound source of interest for each of the users, wherein the adjustments are configured to suppress noise for each of the users while improving the sound source of interest for each of the users.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising sound source localization using one or more of direction of arrival, time difference of arrival, interaural time difference, interaural level differences, or deep learning.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising controlling a number of the microphone arrays that are used to generate the adjustments, wherein the orchestration engine is implemented in the devices or in an edge server, or in a cloud server.

11. A non-transitory storage medium having stored therein instructions that are executable by one or more hardware processors to perform operations comprising:
receiving sound information from a distributed microphone array that includes microphone arrays in an environment by an orchestration engine, wherein each of the microphone arrays is associated with a corresponding device and a corresponding user and wherein the distributed microphone array receives sound from the environment;
generating, by the orchestration engine, adjustments for each of the microphone arrays based on the sound information; and
providing, by the orchestration engine, the adjustments to the microphone arrays, wherein the adjustments are configured to improve at least noise suppression.

12. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the adjustments are further configured to improve speech intelligibility.

13. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 11 , further comprising performing sound localization and sound extraction on the sound information and generating a sound map.

14. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the adjustments are customized for each of the microphone arrays.

15. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 11 , further comprising synchronizing the sound information such that the sound information from each of the microphone arrays synchronized, wherein synchronizing includes accounting for delays including at least time or arrival delays, onset time delays, and internal microphone array delays.

16. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the adjustments include adjustments to array parameters and an anti-noise signal.

17. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the adjustments include positioning speakers that generate speech for the users.

18. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 11 , further comprising identifying a sound source of interest for each of the users, wherein the adjustments are configured to suppress noise for each of the users while improving the sound source of interest for each of the users.

19. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 11 , further comprising sound source localization using one or more of direction of arrival, time difference of arrival, interaural time difference, interaural level differences, or deep learning.

20. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 11 , further comprising controlling a number of the microphone arrays that are used to generate the adjustments, wherein the orchestration engine is implemented in the devices or in an edge server, or in a cloud server.

Assignees

• Emc Ip Holding Co Llc

Inventors

• Sha Danqing
• Seibel Amy N
• Bruno Eric
• Jia Zhen

Classifications

• H04R3/005 Primary

  for combining the signals of two or more microphones (specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407) · CPC title

• G10K11/17823

  Reference signals, e.g. ambient acoustic environment · CPC title

• G10L21/0232

  Processing in the frequency domain · CPC title

• H04R1/406

  microphones · CPC title

• G10K2210/3044

  Phase shift, e.g. complex envelope processing · CPC title