Description:
This speech signal processing system performs vocal recognition for applications like voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP), medical transcription and hearing aids. The system recognizes vocal patterns and tracks each voice in a group so that an individual's voice can be selected and extracted from background noises and other competing voices.
Human speech changes rapidly in pace and pitch over a short period of time. This speech technology tracks each individual voice through time so that the unique sounds and properties of that voice can be reconstructed and presented to the listener.
Using a recursive neural network, this speech signal processing system determines the fundamental frequency of individual voices and then predicts how each individual's pitch will change in the future, based on past behavior.
The result is that each of the voices present in a recording can be tracked, selected, extracted, and either stored for future analysis or used directly in real time. For example, the system may be used in a digital speech signal processing chip in a hearing aid to select and amplify one person’s voice.
Reference Number: D-0205
Market Applications:
• Medical transcription
• Hearing aids
• VoIP systems like Skype
• Voice recognition software
• Law enforcement
Features, Benefits & Advantages:
• Removes background noise from live and recorded conversations without compromising quality of the recorded voice
• Can simultaneously track multiple voices and identify and filter specific voices in real time
• Can be used in any communication device, networks, and systems, including VoIP
Intellectual Property:
A U.S. utility patent, 6,453,284 was issued on 09/17/2002.
Primary Investigator:
Dr. Dwayne Paschall, School of Allied Health, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas.