Microphone Array Projects Ryan M. Corey and Andrew C. Singer

Far-field speech recognition Microphone Arrays Capture spatial information about sound scene Localize and separate multiple sound sources Enhance signals in noisy environments Voice communication Far-field speech recognition Spatial Sound Processing Assistive listening Augmented reality

What we want Microphone array designs for real-world data collection Record raw multichannel audio data for later analysis Test new audio source separation algorithms Polished, reliable design we can easily reproduce Competent engineer could assemble in a day or two Firmware, drivers, and documentation Calibration and test data Pick your own application! Assistive listening Machine audition Audio augmented reality 3D audio/video production Entertainment, gaming, music, karaoke…

Project 1: Wearable Microphone Array Most wearable electronics have only 2-4 mics Large arrays give better spatial resolution Many microphones (~ 8-32) Large total length/area (10’s of cm) Many possible wearable designs Head, neck, shoulders, torso, glasses… Should be portable, comfortable, safe Record raw data for later analysis (Optional) Real-time spatial audio processing Add a programmable processor < 10 ms total mic-to-ear latency for real-time listening B. Widrow (Stanford), 2000 U. Washington “COSINE”, 2009

Project 2: Huge Microphone Array New tech makes it easier to build huge microphone arrays (Digital) MEMS microphones Improved embedded processing Need good multichannel data for signal processing research Design modules that can be scaled to dozens/hundreds of mics Need large bandwidth for raw data Need synchronized sampling between modules OK to demonstrate small setup that we can later scale up Portable and reconfigurable Record in different environments Rearrange modules for different array shapes MIT “LOUD”, 2004

119 Coordinated Science Lab Other Ideas Augmented listening headphones Robot/drone microphone array Binaural recording (virtual 3D audio) Audio augmented reality Anything with microphones on it! Contact Ryan M. Corey 119 Coordinated Science Lab corey1@Illinois.edu Put a mic on it