Abstract: A first noise level, which is an estimated value of a magnitude of a noise component included in a first sound collection signal obtained from a first microphone which collects sound emitted from a first sound collection and amplification position is obtained, a second noise level, which is an estimated value of a magnitude of a noise component included in a second sound collection signal obtained from a second microphone which collects sound emitted from a second sound collection and amplification position is obtained, a ratio of a reproduced noisy sound level, which is an estimated value of a magnitude of noise at a position of a passenger at the second sound collection and amplification position in a case where the first noise level is reproduced from a second speaker placed at the second sound collection and amplification position, with respect to a second noisy sound level, which is an estimated value of a magnitude of noise corresponding to the second noise level at the position of the passenger at the

Abstract: An object is to provide a sound collection apparatus capable of collecting a sound with a higher SN rate than before through use of a reflected sound. The sound collection apparatus is installed in a vehicle. The vehicle includes a seat for a passenger to sit on, and a reflective structure that reflects a sound emitted by a passenger sitting in the seat. The sound collection apparatus includes a first microphone arranged at a position where a direct sound that is a sound emitted by the passenger is readily collected, and a second microphone arranged at a position where a reflected sound that is a sound emitted by the passenger and reflected by the reflective structure is readily collected.

Abstract: Sounds arriving from outside of a mobile body are collected by a microphone disposed inside the mobile body. A sound collecting apparatus according to the present disclosure is attached to the mobile body. The sound collecting apparatus according to the present disclosure includes a microphone that is directly or indirectly in contact with an outer face member, which is a member forming an outer face of the mobile body, from an inner side of the mobile body and collects sounds propagating through the outer face member. In a case where the microphone has directivity, the microphone is disposed in a direction in which sounds propagating from the outer face of the outer face member to the inner side are collected. The outer face member is, for example, glass.

Abstract: Audibility of an outside sound needed for a driver inside an automobile to apprehend a danger and obtain a grasp of a situation necessary for driving is improved. A sound collection and emission apparatus (10) emits, on the basis of an outside acoustic signal which emanates from a sound source outside an automobile (90) and arrives at the automobile (90), an inside acoustic signal which is an acoustic signal derived from the outside acoustic signal to inside the automobile (90). A sound collection unit (M1) collects the outside acoustic signal. A sound emission unit (S1) emits the inside acoustic signal. A danger sound detection unit (11) determines whether the outside acoustic signal has a feature representing a danger defined in advance. A control unit (12) performs control that emits the inside acoustic signal from the sound emission unit (S1) such that a driver of the automobile (90) is capable of perceiving the danger if the outside acoustic signal is determined to represent the danger.

Abstract: A microphone array is a microphone array including two or more microphone holders 1. The two or more microphone holders 1 each hold one microphone. The two or more microphone holders 1 are separatable from each other. The two or more microphone holders 1 are combinable in two or more combination manners different from each other such that the two or more microphone holders 1 are each in contact with any one of the other microphone holders 1 and a distance between the two respective microphones held by two of the microphone holders 1 that are in contact with each other is a predetermined distance.

Abstract: The present invention provides a noise suppression device and so on for improving the estimation precision of a spatial covariance matrix and improving a noise suppression performance. The noise suppression device includes a noise interval detection unit which, on the assumption that a direction from which noise arrives is unknown, determines whether or not a target signal, which is a sound signal that arrives from a predetermined direction and is not subject to suppression, is included in an observation signal, and a noise suppression updating unit that uses an after-observation signal, which is an observation signal acquired at a time after a point at which the noise interval detection unit determines that the target signal is no longer included, to update a beam pattern so as not to emphasize sound issued from a direction in which sound included in the after-observation signal was issued.

Abstract: A conversation support system supports conversation of passengers in an automobile. Seats of at least two or more rows are placed in the automobile, and the conversation support system includes a speech switching control part configured to designate a desired sound pickup and reproduce area based on designation by a first passenger sitting in a first seat, a first target speech emphasizing part configured to output a signal obtained by emphasizing speech emitted from the designated sound pickup and reproduce area to a loud speaker corresponding to the first seat, and a second target speech emphasizing part configured to output the signal obtained by emphasizing speech, which is collected with a microphone corresponding to the first seat and which is emitted from the first seat, to a loud speaker corresponding to the sound pickup and reproduce area.

Abstract: A road condition estimation device 2 includes: a reception unit 21 that receives pieces of sensor information from automobiles respectively, each piece of sensor information including positional information that is information regarding a position at which an automobile travels, and spectral information obtained by converting an acoustic signal generated when the automobile travels at the position into information in a frequency domain; a first classification unit 22 that classifies the pieces of spectral information respectively for roads on which the automobiles travel, based on pieces of positional information included in the pieces of sensor information thus received; and an estimation unit 23 that estimates a condition of a road for each of the pieces of spectral information classified by the first classification unit.

Abstract: A danger detection system for detecting a danger on a road, the danger that changes over time and may not be a danger due to the change over time, the danger detection system including a vibration acquisition unit 11 configured to acquire an acoustic signal collected by a microphone mounted on a vehicle when the vehicle passes through a region on a predetermined road, a danger determination unit 12 configured to determine whether the acoustic signal is derived from the danger, a danger location detection unit 2 configured to determine whether the danger is present in the region on the predetermined road based on the number of times an acoustic signal acquired from each of the plurality of vehicles is determined to be derived from the danger, and a danger information notification unit 3 configured to notify a communication device that can pass through the region on the predetermined road of danger information that is information about a region on a road determined to have a danger.

Abstract: Provided is a technology capable of supporting an operation of a car by a driver when an alarm sound notifying the approach of a train is sounding at a railroad crossing. The alarm sound processing apparatus includes: an observed sound sensor that generates an observed sound signal from an observed sound or vibration related to the observed sound; an alarm sound detection unit that generates an alarm sound detection result indicating whether the observed sound contains an alarm sound at a railroad crossing from the observed sound signal; and an alarm sound reaction unit that executes processing for issuing a warning to notify a driver that a train is approaching the railroad crossing and/or executes processing for applying a brake to a car driven by the driver when the alarm sound detection result indicates that the alarm sound is contained.

Abstract: In-car communication and hands-free talking with good sound quality are realized. An echo cancelation apparatus (4) is for use in a vehicle in which microphones (M1, M2) and loudspeakers (S1, S2) are disposed in acoustic regions (100, 200). A loudspeaker (S1) and a microphone (M1) are disposed in a first acoustic region (100), and a loudspeaker (S2) and a microphone (M2) are disposed in a second acoustic region (200). An acoustic signal picked up by the microphone (M1) disposed in the first acoustic region (100) is emitted from the loudspeaker (S2) disposed in the second acoustic region (200). An acoustic signal picked up by the microphone (M2) disposed in the second acoustic region (200) is emitted from the loudspeaker (S1) disposed in the first acoustic region (100). The microphone (M1) is designed to hardly collect a sound emitted from the loudspeaker (S2).

Abstract: Provided is a notification technique that makes it possible to notify a person of a direction in which a danger exists, using a sound.

Abstract: An abnormality detection device 1 includes: a vibration acquisition unit 11 configured to acquire an acoustic signal generated during passage of a vehicle on a road; a frequency domain conversion unit 12 configured to convert the acquired acoustic signal into a frequency domain signal; an unexpectedness determination unit 13 configured to determine whether there is unexpectedness at each predetermined frequency using the frequency domain signal; and an abnormality determination unit 14 configured to determine whether there is an abnormality in the road based on the number of frequencies at which it is determined that there is the unexpectedness.

Abstract: A command analysis device capable of shortening the time until a command is executed is provided. The command analysis device includes a speech recognition unit that performs, every time when a predetermined unit of a speech signal is input, speech recognition on the speech signal and acquires a partial speech recognition result which is an intermediate result, and a command analysis unit that verifies an intermediate result in light of a predetermined intermediate result recognition rule, and outputs an analysis result during the input of the speech signal when a command execution target and a command execution content are successfully analyzed are provided.

Abstract: Provided are a frequency characteristics converting apparatus, a frequency characteristics converting method, and a program that make natural reproduced sound of a speaker compatible with howling prevention. In the frequency characteristics converting apparatus, a sound emitter is located at a first position on an inside of a vehicle, and in response to an increase in magnitude of noise at the first position, volume of target sound, collected by a sound collector installed at a second position, is increased when the target sound is emitted by the sound emitter, and a degree of signal processing that is applied to the target sound is increased.

Abstract: Provided are a volume control apparatus capable of appropriately controlling a sound volume even immediately after start of utterance, an associated method, and a program. The volume control apparatus includes a recognition unit that recognizes a predetermined voice command for use in starting voice recognition, a gain setting unit that sets a gain for an audio signal X of a target of the voice recognition, by use of an audio signal related to the predetermined voice command uttered by a user, and an adjustment unit that adjusts a sound volume of the audio signal X, by use of the gain.

Abstract: A noise estimation parameter learning device is provided according to which even in a large space causing a problem of the reverberation and the time frame difference, multiple microphones disposed at distant positions cooperate with each other, and a spectral subtraction method is executed, thereby allowing the target sound to be enhanced.

Abstract: An acoustic signal is separated based on a difference in the distance from a sound source to a microphone. By using a filter obtained by associating a value corresponding to an estimated value of a short-distance acoustic signal which is obtained by using “a predetermined function” from a second acoustic signal derived from signals collected by “a plurality of microphones” and is emitted from a position close to “the plurality of microphones” with a value corresponding to an estimated value of a long-distance acoustic signal which is emitted from a position far from “the plurality of microphones”, a desired acoustic signal representing at least one of a sound emitted from a position close to “a specific microphone” and a sound emitted from a position far from “the specific microphone” is acquired from a first acoustic signal derived from a signal collected by “the specific microphone”.

Abstract: An object is to prevent a keyword from being falsely detected from an utterance that is not intended for keyword detection. A keyword detection unit 11 generates a keyword detection result indicating a result of detecting an utterance of a predetermined keyword from an input voice. A voice detection unit 12 generates a voice section detection result indicating a result of detecting a voice section from the input voice. A delay unit 13 gives a delay that is at least longer than an utterance time of the keyword, to the voice section detection result. An in-sentence keyword excluding unit 14 updates the keyword detection result to a result indicating that the keyword has not been detected when the keyword detection results indicates that the keyword has been detected and the voice section detection result indicates that a voice section has been detected.

Abstract: A channel in which an utterance of a keyword is included is selected from acoustic signals of multiple channels. An addition unit 11 adds all channels of input voice signals of multiple channels to generate a composite voice signal of one channel. A keyword detection unit 12 generates a keyword detection result indicating a result of detecting an utterance of a predetermined keyword from a composite voice signal. A power calculation unit 13 calculates powers of channels based on input voice signals. A delay unit 14 delays the powers of the channels. When the keyword detection result indicates that the keyword was detected, a maximum power detection unit 15 selects, as an output channel, a channel having the maximum power among the powers of the channels of the input voice signals. A channel selection unit 16 selects the voice signal of the output channel from the input voice signals and outputs the selected voice signal.