Cisco Technology, Inc.

Haohai Sun

Johan Ludvig Nielsen

Espen Moberg

Bjørn Winsvold

Gisle Langen Enstad

Bjorn Winsvold

Rune Skramstad

Amund Holmboe Basmo

Øystein Bredvei

Per Waagø

A loudspeaker is driven with a loudspeaker signal to generate sound, and sound is converted to one or more microphone signals with one or more microphones. The microphone signals are concurrently transformed into far-field beam signals and near-field beam signals. The far-field beam signals and the near-field beam signals are concurrently processed to produce one or more far-field output signals and one or more near-field output signals, respectively. Echo is detected and canceled in the far-field beam signals and in the near-field beam signals. When the echo is not detected above a threshold, the one or more far-field output signals are outputted. When the echo is detected above the threshold, the one or more near-field output signals are outputted. A signal based on the one or more output signals is transmitted.

Full-duplex adaptive echo cancellation in a conference endpoint

A microphone array includes one or more front-facing microphones disposed on a front surface of the collaboration endpoint and a plurality of secondary microphones disposed on a second surface of the collaboration endpoint. The sound signals received at each of the one or more front-facing microphones and the plurality of secondary microphones are converted into microphone signals. When the sound signals have a frequency below a threshold frequency, an output signal is generated from microphone signals generated by the one or more front-facing microphones and the plurality of secondary microphones. When the sound signals have a frequency at or above a threshold frequency, an output signal is generated from microphone signals generated by only the one or more front-facing microphones.

Directional audio pickup in collaboration endpoints

A method and apparatus for providing binaural audio for a headset is provided. In one embodiment, a method includes encoding audio signals to provide binaural audio to a headset. The method includes receiving audio signals from a microphone array comprising a first plurality of elements and applying far-field array processing to the audio signals to generate a first plurality of channels. The channels can be beam channels and each channel is associated with a particular beam angle. The method further includes selecting a second plurality of channels from the first plurality of channels that is a subset of the first plurality of channels. The method includes encoding the audio signals from the selected second plurality of channels with information associated with the particular beam angle for each of the selected second plurality of channels. The encoded audio signals are configured to provide binaural audio to a headset.

Binaural audio encoding/decoding and rendering for a headset

The disclosed technology relates to a microphone array. The array comprises a plurality of microphones with each microphone having a horn portion. Each microphone of the array further comprises an instrument disposed at a distal end of the horn portion. Each instrument of the array is configured to convert sound waves into an electrical signal. The microphone array further comprises a beamforming signal processing circuit electrically coupled to each instrument and configured to create a plurality of beam signals based on respective electrical signals.

Hybrid horn microphone

At a microphone array, a soundfield is detected to produce a set of microphone signals each from a corresponding microphone in the microphone array. The set of microphone signals represents the soundfield. The detected soundfield is decomposed into a set of sub-soundfield signals based on the set of microphone signals. Each sub-soundfield signal is processed, such that each sub-soundfield signal is separately dereverberated using other ones of the sub-soundfield signals to remove reverberation from the sub-soundfield signal, to produce a set of processed sub-soundfield signals. The set of processed sub-sound field signals are mixed into a mixed output signal.

Soundfield decomposition, reverberation reduction, and audio mixing of sub-soundfields at a video conference endpoint

A system and method for joint acoustic echo control and adaptive array processing, comprising the decomposition of a captured sound field into N sub-sound fields, applying linear echo cancellation to each sub-sound field, selecting L sub-sound fields from the N sub-sound fields, performing L channel adaptive array processing utilizing the L selected sub-sound fields, and applying non-linear audio echo cancellation.

Joint acoustic echo control and adaptive array processing

In one embodiment, a method includes retrieving positions P1, P2 and P3 of a first, second and third attendee position, respectively, P1, P2, P3 being determined based on detecting speech from the first, second and third attendee position, respectively, by a first microphone array of a first collaboration apparatus, retrieving distances D1, D2 and D3 from the first, second and third attendee position, respectively, to a second microphone array of a second collaboration apparatus, D1, D2, D3 being determined based on detecting speech from the first, second and third attendee position, respectively, by the second microphone array, P1 and D1 defining a circle C1 centered at P1 with radius D1, P2 and D2 defining a circle C2 centered at P2 with radius D2, P3 and D3 defining a circle C3 centered at P3 with radius D3, calculating a position P4 based on a proximity of a circumference of C1, C2 and C3.

Automated collaboration system

At a microphone array, a soundfield is detected to produce a set of microphone signals each from a corresponding microphone in the microphone array. The set of microphone signals represents the soundfield. The detected soundfield is decomposed into a set of sub-soundfield signals based on the set of microphone signals. Each sub-soundfield signal is processed, such that each sub-soundfield signal is separately dereverberated to remove reverberation therefrom, to produce a set of processed sub-soundfield signals. The set of processed sub-sound field signals are mixed into a mixed output signal.

A video conference endpoint detects a face and determines a face angle of the detected face relative to a reference direction based on images captured with a camera. The endpoint determines an angle of arrival of sound (i.e., a sound angle) received at a microphone array that transduces the sound relative to the reference direction based on the transduced sound and a sound speed parameter indicative of a speed of sound in air. The endpoint compares the face angle against the sound angle, and adjusts the sound speed parameter so as to reduce the angle difference if the compare indicates an angle difference greater than zero between the face and sound angles.

Precise tracking of sound angle of arrival at a microphone array under air temperature variation

Systems, processes, devices, apparatuses, algorithms and computer readable medium for suppressing spatial interference using a dual microphone array for receiving, from a first microphone and a second microphone that are separated by a predefined distance, and that are configured to receive source signals, respective first and second microphone signals based on received source signals. A phase difference between the first and the second microphone signals is calculated based on the predefined distance. An angular distance between directions of arrival of the source signals and a desired capture direction is calculated based on the phase difference. Directional-filter coefficients are calculated based on the angular distance. Undesired source signals are filtered from an output based on the directional-filter coefficients.

Spatial interference suppression using dual-microphone arrays

A processing system can include a tracking microphone array; audio tracker circuitry connected to the tracking microphone array to track an audio source based on an audio input from the array; communication microphones; and a processor. The processor can include audio circuitry to receive an audio input from the communication microphones and process the audio input to apply one or more of acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) and acoustic echo suppression (AES) processing to the audio input. The processor can further include calculating circuitry to calculate a ratio of signal power after and before the AEC and/or the AES processing, and control circuitry to generate an acoustic echo presence indication based on the ratio calculated by the calculating circuitry. The processor can transmit, via transmitting circuitry, the acoustic echo presence indication to an audio tracking device via a data communication channel between the processor and the audio tracker.

Acoustic echo control for automated speaker tracking systems

A video conference endpoint determines a position of a best audio pick-up region for placement of a sound source relative to a microphone having a receive pattern configured to capture sound signals from the best region. The endpoint captures an image of a scene that encompasses the best region and displays the image of the scene. The endpoint generates an image representative of the best region and displays the generated image representative of the best region as an overlay of the scene image.

Determination, display, and adjustment of best sound source placement region relative to microphone

A telepresence video conference endpoint device includes spaced-apart microphone arrays each configured to transduce sound into corresponding sound signals. A processor receives the sound signals from the arrays and determines a direction-of-arrival (DOA) of sound at each array based on the set of sound signals from that array, determines if each array is blocked or unblocked based on the DOA determined for that array, selects an array among the arrays based on whether each array is determined to be blocked or unblocked, and perform subsequent sound processing based on one or more of the sound signals from the selected array.

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Sandvika, Norway

Haohai Sun