In previous studies, the localisation accuracy and the spatial impression of 3-2 stereo microphone arrays were discussed. These showed that 3-2 stereo cannot produce stable images to the side and to the rear of the listener. An octagon loudspeaker array was therefore proposed. Microphone array design for this loudspeaker configuration was studied in terms of localisation accuracy, locatedness a...

This paper investigates the use of microphone arrays to acquire and recognise speech in meetings. Meetings pose several interesting problems for speech processing, as they consist of multiple competing speakers within a small space, typically around a table. Due to their ability to provide hands-free acquisition and directional discrimination, microphone arrays present a potential alternative t...

In this paper, a novel design of a biology-inspired directional microphone is presented. This microphone consists of two clamped circular diaphragms, which are mechanically coupled by a connecting bridge that is pivoted at its center. A mechanics based model is constructed to determine the response of the proposed directional microphone to sound incident from an arbitrary direction. The simulat...

The effects of loudspeaker azimuth and reference microphone location on probe tube microphone measures were assessed. The real ear unaided response (REUR), real ear aided response (REAR), and real ear insertion response (REIR) were obtained on a KEMAR. Aided measures were obtained with both a behind-the-ear and an in-the-ear hearing aid. All three measurements were affected by changes in the lo...

Speech recorded from a throat microphone is robust to the surrounding noise, but sounds unnatural unlike the speech recorded from a close-speaking microphone. This paper addresses the issue of improving the perceptual quality of the throat microphone speech by mapping the speech spectra from the throat microphone to the close-speaking microphone. A neural network model is used to capture the sp...

This report presents a tutorial of fundamental array processing and beamforming theory relevant to microphone array speech processing. A microphone array consists of multiple microphones placed at different spatial locations. Built upon a knowledge of sound propagation principles, the multiple inputs can be manipulated to enhance or attenuate signals emanating from particular directions. In thi...