Speech enhancement with a new generalized eigenvector blocking matrix for application in a generalized sidelobe canceller

• Published in: 2008 IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing pp. 73 - 76
• Main Authors: Warsitz, E., Krueger, A., Haeb-Umbach, R.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01-03-2008
• Subjects: Array signal processing; Eigenvalues and eigenfunctions; Interference cancellation; Noise cancellation; Noise reduction; Noise robustness; Reverberation; Speech enhancement; Transfer functions; Working environment noise
• ISBN: 9781424414833; 1424414830
• ISSN: 1520-6149; 2379-190X
• DOI: 10.1109/ICASSP.2008.4517549

The generalized sidelobe canceller by Griffith and Jim is a robust beamforming method to enhance a desired (speech) signal in the presence of stationary noise. Its performance depends to a high degree on the construction of the blocking matrix which produces noise reference signals for the subsequent adaptive interference canceller. Especially in reverberated environments the beamformer may suffer from signal leakage and reduced noise suppression. In this paper a new blocking matrix is proposed. It is based on a generalized eigenvalue problem whose solution provides an indirect estimation of the transfer functions from the source to the sensors. The quality of the new generalized eigenvector blocking matrix is studied in simulated rooms with different reverberation times and is compared to alternatives proposed in the literature.