Multi-sensory speech enhancement using a speech-state model

#A common problem in speech recognition and speech transmission is the corruption of the speech signal by additive noise. In particular, corruption due to the speech of another speaker has proven to be difficult to detect and/or correct.

#Recently, systems have been developed that attempt to remove noise by using a combination of an alternative sensor, such as a bone conduction microphone, and an air conduction microphone. Various techniques have been developed that use the alternative sensor signal and the air conduction microphone signal to form an enhanced speech signal that has less noise than the air conduction microphone signal. However, perfectly enhanced speech has not been achieved and further advances in the formation of enhanced speech signals are needed.

#A method and apparatus determine a likelihood of a speech state based on an alternative sensor signal and an air conduction microphone signal. The likelihood of the speech state is used to estimate a clean speech value for a clean speech signal.

#FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one computing environment in which embodiments of the present invention may be practiced.

#FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an alternative computing environment in which embodiments of the present invention may be practiced.

#FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a general speech processing system of the present invention.

#FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a suitable computing system environment 100 on which embodiments of the invention may be implemented. The computing system environment 100 is only one example of a suitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the invention. Neither should the computing environment 100 be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in the exemplary operating environment 100.

#Embodiments of the invention are operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with embodiments of the invention include, but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, telephony systems, distributed computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

#Embodiments of the invention may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The invention is designed to be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules are located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.