Voice acquisition system and voice acquisition method

A mobile object which includes one or more microphones and which is movable around a sound source, the mobile object comprising:

• a sound source number estimating unit which estimates the number of sound sources in a vicinity of the mobile object;
• a control unit that causes, based on the number of sound sources in a vicinity of the mobile object, another mobile object that differs from the mobile object to move to a vicinity of the mobile object and to cooperate with the mobile object for acquiring voice emitted from the sound sources, wherein the another mobile object is not cooperating with the mobile object for acquiring voice emitted from the sound sources before the control unit causes the another mobile object to cooperate with the mobile object;
• and
• a voice acquisition unit which acquires voice using both a microphone included in the mobile object itself and a microphone included in the other mobile object, wherein the voice acquisition unit separates sound emitted from a plurality of sound sources according to the sound source using both the microphone included in the first mobile object and the microphone included in the second mobile object.

A voice acquisition method of acquiring voice using a plurality of mobile objects each of which includes one or more microphones and is movable around a sound source, the voice acquisition method comprising:

• estimating the number of sound sources in a vicinity of any of the mobile objects;
• controlling, based on the number of sound sources in a vicinity of a first mobile object, a second mobile object which differs from the first mobile object to move to a vicinity of the first mobile object and to cooperate with the first mobile object for acquiring voice emitted from the sound sources, wherein the second mobile object is not cooperating with the first mobile object for acquiring voice emitted from the sound sources before the control unit controls the second mobile object to cooperate with the first mobile object;
• and
• acquiring voice using both a microphone included in the first mobile object and a microphone included in the second mobile object, wherein the acquiring voice separates sound emitted from a plurality of sound sources according to the sound source using both the microphone included in the first mobile object and the microphone included in the second mobile object.