Context-adaptive pre-processing scheme for robust speech recognition in fast-varying noise environment

Based on the observation that dissimilar speech enhancement algorithms perform differently for different types of interference and noise conditions, we propose a context-adaptive speech pre-processing scheme, which performs adaptive selection of the most advantageous speech enhancement algorithm for each condition. The selection process is based on an unsupervised clustering of the acoustic feature space and a subsequent mapping function that identifies the most appropriate speech enhancement channel for each audio input, corresponding to unknown environmental conditions. Experiments performed on the MoveOn motorcycle speech and noise database validate the practical value of the proposed scheme for speech enhancement and demonstrate a significant improvement in terms of speech recognition accuracy, when compared to the one of the best performing individual speech enhancement algorithm. This is expressed as accuracy gain of 3.3% in terms of word recognition rate. The advance offered in the present work reaches beyond the specifics of the present application, and can be beneficial to spoken interfaces operating in fast-varying noise environments.