Abstract

This paper presents a new adaptive technique for speech capturing in adverse conditions using microphone arrays. The proposed technique is based on frequency-domain alignment of microphone signals with the output of the fixed beamformer directed to the target speaker. This alignment procedure improves pattern directivity and reduces sidelobes. The low complexity of the technique is achieved by means of a frequency-domain implementation of the algorithm. This makes it possible to implement this technique in real-time applications with a large number of microphones. The technique was evaluated on speech data corrupted by varying levels and directions of noise and interference. The proposed technique improves the directivity pattern of a traditional Dealy & Sum beamformer as well as provides additional suppression of spatially incoherent noise, diffuse noise and interference, with minimal loss of the target signal quality.

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