Speaker tracking on a single core in a packed based conferencing system

A method for tracking speakers on a single core of a multi-core distributed conferencing system, comprising the steps of:

• setting a maximum number of active speakers to be transmitted by each core;
• determining the number of channels on said single core;
• determining the voice or noise state of each speaker on said single core;
• assigning a valid identifier to each speaker signal on said single core which is identified as a voice signal;
• extracting values for the short-term energies, long term energies, and energy variation of each speaker signal identified as voice;
• detecting idle channels;
• comparing the number of assigned valid speakers to the allowed maximum number of active speakers and designating the valid speakers as current active speakers when the number of valid speakers does not exceed the allowed maximum number of active speakers;
• updating the parameters and features for the current active speakers based upon the features extracted from the valid speakers when the identity of the current active speakers is the same as the identity of the previous active speakers;
• communicating the current active speaker identifications, parameters and features to the other cores in the conferencing system when said active speakers are not on an idle channel.

A method for tracking speakers on a single core of a multi-core distributed conferencing system, comprising the steps of:

• setting a maximum number of active speakers to be transmitted by each core;
• determining the number of channels on said single core;
• determining the voice or noise state of each speaker on said single core;
• assigning a valid identifier to each speaker signal on said single core which is identified as a voice signal;
• extracting values for the short-term energies, long term energies, standard energy and energy variation of each speaker signal identified as voice;
• detecting idle channels;
• comparing the assigned valid speakers to the allowed maximum number of active speakers and comparing the energy of each valid speaker to a threshold energy standard deviation when the number of valid speakers exceeds the allowed maximum number of active speakers;
• determining the number of speakers with energy above the noise threshold;
• updating the parameters and features for the current active speakers based upon the features extracted from the valid speakers above the threshold, when number of valid speakers above the threshold is equal to the allowed maximum number of active speakers;
• ordering the speakers according to the long term and short term energies of the current signals when there are more valid speakers above the threshold than the allowed maximum number of active speakers;
• sequentially selecting the valid speakers beginning with the speaker having the highest energy as the current active speakers;
• lowering the threshold energy standard deviation when the number of valid speakers above the previous threshold energy standard deviation is less than the allowed maximum number of active speakers and re-comparing the assigned valid speakers to the revised lowered threshold;
• communicating the current active speaker identifications, parameters and features to the other cores in the conferencing system when said active speakers are not on an idle channel.