Design of a Noise-Selective Sound Seat Combining Auditory Scene Analysis and Active Sound Field Techniques
54º Congreso Español de Acústica — Tecniacústica 2023
Abstract
Prolonged exposure to elevated noise levels has been established as a significant contributing factor to various health problems, such as hearing impairment, hypertension, and sleep disturbance. Moreover, elevated noise levels can exacerbate stress levels, increase the incidence of workplace accidents, and foster anti-social and aggressive behaviors. Thankfully, these issues can be alleviated through the implementation of active sound control techniques, which involves manipulating the acoustic environment by utilizing loudspeakers to create a desired sound field within a specific area. However, the integration of these techniques with array-based auditory scene analysis poses challenges due to physical limitations imposed by microphone and loudspeaker placement, which affect the maximum processing delay available for the system. This paper analyzes the design of a noise-selective active sound seat, with a particular focus on the associated design constraints. The proposed seat combines active sound control with a comprehensive set of techniques derived from the Auditory Scene Analysis framework. These techniques enable the analysis of sound mixtures to separate individual sound sources. By spatially analyzing the position and characteristics of different sound sources within a room, the seat empowers the user to selectively mask undesirable sound sources using active sound field techniques.