Perceptual Binaural Speech Enhancement in Noisy Enviornments

Abstract

Speech enhancement in multi-speaker babble remains an enormous challenge. In this study, we developed a binaural speech enhancement system to extract information pertaining to a target speech signal embedded in a noisy background for use in future hearing-aid systems. The principle underlying the proposed system is to simulate the perceptual auditory segregation process carried out in the normal human auditory system. Based on the spatial location, pitch and onset cues, the system can identify and enhance those time-frequency regions which constitute the target speech. The proposed system is capable of dealing with a wide variety of noise intrusions, including competing speech signals and multi-speaker babble. It also works under mild reverberation conditions. Systematic evaluation shows that the system achieves substantial improvement on the intelligibility of target signal, while it largely suppresses the unwanted background signal.