New to me and interesting, out of ACM
AI In Your Ears By R. Colin Johnson
Commissioned by CACM Staff, August 25, 2022
"ClearBuds" is the code-name of the first "end-to-end hardware-software neural-network based binaural system using wireless synchronized earbuds," according to hardware engineer Maruchi Kim at the University of Washington.
Kim and his colleagues demonstrated a prototype of their speech-enhancing/noise-reducing devices at the ACM International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications, and Services (ACM MobiSys2022, held in Portland, OR June 27-July 1 ).
The "first" claimed by the researchers is the pairing of binaural (dual) microphones—one in each ear's ClearBud—with two neural networks in an app on a smartphone, resulting in a superior user-experience of voice isolation and noise cancellation during telephone conversations, according to test subjects.
"While neither dual mics nor neural network software is unique or innovative, the combination has value since it reportedly provides an experience that the users liked," said Fan Gang Zeng, a professor of otolaryngology and director of the Hearing and Speech Laboratory at the University of California, Irvine. A researcher in auditory science and technology who was not involved with the research, Zeng added, "Also, there is no technical barrier for others to develop or use the same combo."
To assist other researchers and even commercial telephony equipment providers to use the ClearBud approach, the researchers open-sourced their hardware, software, and neural network architectures. Details are provided in their paper, as well as in their audio demonstrations (which also contain links to the open-source hardware, including the printed circuit board layout, the software code for binaural transmission over Bluetooth, and the code and architectures of the neural networks).
