By proactivaudio: Echo cancellation technologies with Infineon’s PSoC™ 6 and XENSIV™ MEMS microphones
Our Associated Partner proactivaudio designs and develops in-house innovative firmware solutions for voice user interfaces and communications. The term “proactive” refers to the property of “controlling a situation by preparing for possible future problems”, just the same way the proactivaudio’s algorithm reacts adaptively to its environment.
Combined with an array of our high-SNR XENSIV™ MEMS microphones their patented acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) offers unparalleled levels of quality and robustness regardless of the background’s noise levels, combining new methods and solutions for far-field speech recording of any conversation.
Thus, this solution offers the following benefits to any audio- and VUI-based application such as smart speakers, conference systems, IoT devices, and many others:
Exceptional accuracy: proactivaudio’s proprietary machine learning (ML) technology allows determining to which extent both the residual echo and the near-end sounds are present in the microphone signal.
This technology paves the way for a new device category of “conversational microphones”. As a result, the ML echo canceller is able to adaptively learn and track the acoustic properties of the room. Hence, it is able to cancel acoustic echo effectively in any severe hostile environment, that is for instance, with permanent double talk, background noise, and acoustic changes. The new ML technology paves the way for a new device category of “conversational microphones”, capable of recording business or legal conversations such as between lawyer-client or doctor-patient, even during double talk.
Performance enhancement: Proactivaudio’s offering includes AEC technology fully immune to near-end activity. The AEC technology adapted for acoustic source separation improves the raw performance of microphone-array beamforming (video). Because an array built with Infineon’s XENSIV™ MEMS microphones delivers an exceptionally high signal-to-noise ratio and wide spatial coverage, the conversational microphone operates autonomously and unobtrusively for the end-users.
Accurate system stabilization: The core AEC technology has been conveniently adapted for MLF (microphone-loudspeaker feedback) ancellation: the unstable electroacoustic effect caused by a positive gain loop between a microphone and a loudspeaker. It overloads the system and results in the terrible MLF screech, which may also cause physical damage to the loudspeaker. Implementing the AEC technology on Infineon’s PSoCTM 6 with an ARM Cortex-M4 core (video) accomplishes accurate system stabilization, thereby efficiently ensuring loudspeaker driver protection.
