Biomimetic direction of arrival estimation for resolving front-back confusions in hearing aids

Alan W. Archer-Boyd, William M. Whitmer, W. Owen Brimijoin, John J. Soraghan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)
123 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Sound sources at the same angle in front or behind a two-microphone array (e.g., bilateral hearing aids) produce the same time delay and two estimates for the direction of arrival: A front-back confusion. The auditory system can resolve this issue using head movements. To resolve front-back confusion for hearing-aid algorithms, head movement was measured using an inertial sensor. Successive time-delay estimates between the microphones are shifted clockwise and counterclockwise by the head movement between estimates and aggregated in two histograms. The histogram with the largest peak after multiple estimates predicted the correct hemifield for the source, eliminating the front-back confusions.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)EL360-EL366
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of the Acoustical Society of America
Volume137
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2015

Keywords

  • gyroscope motion
  • microphones
  • microelectromechanical systems
  • interpolation
  • hearing aids

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