Multimicrophone Adaptive Array Augmented with Visual Cueing

描述(由申请人提供)：先进医疗电子公司(AME)建议开发一种基于智能手机的自适应视听阵列，使助听器用户能够在具有明显语音杂音的混响环境中与多个扬声器对话，其中助听器不能很好地工作。该系列将包括一部智能手机、一部智能手机配件和一款智能手机应用程序。智能手机配件将是一个加密狗，将容纳一个多麦克风自适应阵列。加密狗还将包含一个低功率无线电，通过它可以将音频信号传输到兼容的助听器。智能手机软件应用程序将实现自适应视听波束形成算法。它将使用智能手机的内置摄像头来获取图像。由于该阵列利用了手持消费电子设备，因此它将是便携的和低成本的。我们将通过在第一阶段进行人体测试来评估原型。 与公共健康相关：助听器使用者的主要抱怨是在噪音中理解语音的困难。只有51%的助听器使用者报告说，他们对自己的助听器在噪音中感到满意。一种在困难的混响环境中增强助听器的分立设备将允许助听器用户在几乎任何环境中与多人交谈，包括餐馆、汽车等。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Advanced Medical Electronics Corporation (AME) proposes to develop a smartphone-based adaptive audiovisual array that enables hearing aid users to converse with multiple speakers in reverberant environments with significant speech babble noise where their hearing aids do not function well. The array will consist of a smartphone, a smartphone accessory, and a smartphone application. The smartphone accessory will be a dongle that will house a multimicrophone adaptive array. The dongle will also contain a lower power radio by which it can transmit audio signals to compatible hearing aids. The smartphone software application will implement an adaptive audiovisual beamforming algorithm. It will use the smartphone's built-in camera to acquire images. Since the array leverages a handheld consumer electronic device, it will be portable and low cost. We will evaluate the prototype by conducting human tests in Phase I. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The primary complaint of hearing-aid users is their difficulty understanding speech in noise. Only 51 percent of hearing aid users report they are satisfied with their hearing aids in noise. A discrete device that augments hearing aids in difficult reverberant environments would allow hearing aid users to converse with multiple people in almost any environment including restaurants, automobiles, etc.