Distributed Acoustic Signal Processing over Wireless Sensor Networks

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In the proposal "Distributed Acoustic Signal Processing over Wireless Sensor Networks", we apply for an extension of the corresponding previous project. We still consider the same basic scenario: an acoustic sensor network comprising multiple microphones (and possibly speakers), communicating via wireless links, typically connected to the Internet via one or few gateway nodes. Inside such a network, acoustic applications (e.g., speaker separation) should be executed. A straightforward solution might be to transport all data to a gateway node and process it there. This is, however, not necessarily the best solution (data rate bottlenecks, large latency for big acoustic data); it also squanders the opportunity to (pre-)process data inside the network as it travels towards a gateway. We hence look at scenarios (inspired by trends like microservices or network function virtualization) where the acoustic signal processing chain can be broken down into individual blocks and distributed onto the nodes of the sensor network.In this extension project, we continue our work on both acoustic processing as well as a framework for the automatic distribution of such tasks. Specifically, we will look at hardware aspects (in particular, full-duplex audio), how to leverage such hardware for synchronization in MAC protocols and the estimation of acoustic round-trip times. This will allow us to estimate and calibrate scenario geometries in static and dynamic environments. Taking into account utility information about acoustic sources derived by partner projects, we consider which sources to select from both an acoustic and a networking perspective. Finally, a key question is going to be how to handle the networking aspects of dynamic scenarios, where dynamics comes from either uncontrolled or controlled (e.g., robot-based) mobility of devices or environment. Our work will culminate in a joint testbed that harnesses all key functionality and support experimentation with different algorithmic ideas.