Distributed and Collaborative Processing of Audio Signals: Algorithms, Tools and Applications

Tesis por compendio[ES] Esta tesis se enmarca en el campo de las Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones (TIC), especialmente en el área del procesado digital de la señal. En la actualidad, y debido al auge del Internet de los cosas (IoT), existe un creciente interés por las redes de sensores inalámbricos (WSN), es decir, redes compuestas de diferentes tipos de dispositivos específicamente distribuidos en una determinada zona para realizar diferentes tareas de procesado de señal. Estos dispositivos o nodos suelen estar equipados con transductores electroacústicos así como con potentes y eficientes procesadores con capacidad de comunicación. En el caso particular de las redes de sensores acústicos (ASN), los nodos se dedican a resolver diferentes tareas de procesado de señales acústicas. El desarrollo de potentes sistemas de procesado centralizado han permitido aumentar el número de canales de audio, ampliar el área de control o implementar algoritmos más complejos. En la mayoría de los casos, una topología de ASN distribuida puede ser deseable debido a varios factores tales como el número limitado de canales utilizados por los dispositivos de adquisición y reproducción de audio, la conveniencia de un sistema escalable o las altas exigencias computacionales de los sistemas centralizados. Todos estos aspectos pueden llevar a la utilización de nuevas técnicas de procesado distribuido de señales con el fin de aplicarlas en ASNs. Para ello, una de las principales aportaciones de esta tesis es el desarrollo de algoritmos de filtrado adaptativo para sistemas de audio multicanal en redes distribuidas. Es importante tener en cuenta que, para aplicaciones de control del campo sonoro (SFC), como el control activo de ruido (ANC) o la ecualización activa de ruido (ANE), los nodos acústicos deben estar equipados con actuadores con el fin de controlar y modificar el campo sonoro. Sin embargo, la mayoría de las propuestas de redes distribuidas adaptativas utilizadas para resolver problemas de control del campo sonoro no tienen en cuenta que los nodos pueden interferir o modificar el comportamiento del resto. Por lo tanto, otra contribución destacable de esta tesis se centra en el análisis de cómo el sistema acústico afecta el comportamiento de los nodos dentro de una ASN. En los casos en que el entorno acústico afecta negativamente a la estabilidad del sistema, se han propuesto varias estrategias distribuidas para resolver el problema de interferencia acústica con el objetivo de estabilizar los sistemas de ANC. En el diseño de los algoritmos distribuidos también se han tenido en cuenta aspectos de implementación práctica. Además, con el objetivo de crear perfiles de ecualización diferentes en zonas de escucha independientes en presencia de ruidos multitonales, se han presentado varios algoritmos distribuidos de ANE en banda estrecha y banda ancha sobre una ASN con una comunicación colaborativa y compuesta por nodos acústicos. Se presentan además resultados experimentales para validar el uso de los algoritmos distribuidos propuestos en el trabajo para aplicaciones prácticas. Para ello, se ha diseñado un software de simulación acústica que permite analizar el rendimiento de los algoritmos desarrollados en la tesis. Finalmente, se ha realizado una implementación práctica que permite ejecutar aplicaciones multicanal de SFC. Para ello, se ha desarrollado un prototipo en tiempo real que controla las aplicaciones de ANC y ANE utilizando nodos acústicos colaborativos. El prototipo consiste en dos sistemas de control de audio personalizado (PAC) compuestos por un asiento de coche y un nodo acústico, el cual está equipado con dos altavoces, dos micrófonos y un procesador con capacidad de comunicación entre los dos nodos. De esta manera, es posible crear dos zonas independientes de control de ruido que mejoran el confort acústico del usuario sin necesidad de utilizar auriculares.[CA] Aquesta tesi s'emmarca en el camp de les Tecnologies de la Informació i les Comunicacions (TIC), especialment en l'àrea del processament digital del senyal. En l'actualitat, i a causa de l'auge de la Internet dels coses (IoT), existeix un creixent interés per les xarxes de sensors sense fils (WSN), és a dir, xarxes compostes de diferents tipus de dispositius específicament distribuïts en una determinada zona per a fer diferents tasques de processament de senyal. Aquests dispositius o nodes solen estar equipats amb transductors electroacústics així com amb potents i eficients processadors amb capacitat de comunicació. En el cas particular de les xarxes de sensors acústics (ASN), els nodes es dediquen a resoldre diferents tasques de processament de senyals acústics. El desenvolupament de potents sistemes de processament centralitzat han permés augmentar el nombre de canals d'àudio, ampliar l'àrea de control o implementar algorismes més complexos. En la majoria dels casos, una topologia de ASN distribuïda pot ser desitjable a causa de diversos factors tals com el nombre limitat de canals utilitzats pels dispositius d'adquisició i reproducció d'àudio, la conveniència d'un sistema escalable o les altes exigències computacionals dels sistemes centralitzats. Tots aquests aspectes poden portar a la utilització de noves tècniques de processament distribuït de senyals amb la finalitat d'aplicar-les en ASNs. Per a això, una de les principals aportacions d'aquesta tesi és el desenvolupament d'algorismes de filtrat adaptatiu per a sistemes d'àudio multicanal en xarxes distribuïdes. És important tindre en compte que, per a aplicacions de control del camp sonor (SFC), com el control actiu de soroll (ANC) o l'equalització activa de soroll (ANE), els nodes acústics han d'estar equipats amb actuadors amb la finalitat de controlar i modificar el camp sonor. No obstant això, la majoria de les propostes de xarxes distribuïdes adaptatives utilitzades per a resoldre problemes de control del camp sonor no tenen en compte que els nodes poden modificar el comportament de la resta. Per tant, una altra contribució destacable d'aquesta tesi se centra en l'anàlisi de com el sistema acústic afecta el comportament dels nodes dins d'una ASN. En els casos en què l'entorn acústic afecta negativament a l'estabilitat del sistema, s'han proposat diverses estratègies distribuïdes per a resoldre el problema d'interferència acústica amb l'objectiu d'estabilitzar els sistemes de ANC. En el disseny dels algorismes distribuïts també s'han tingut en compte aspectes d'implementació pràctica. A més, amb l'objectiu de crear perfils d'equalització diferents en zones d'escolta independents en presència de sorolls multitonales, s'han presentat diversos algorismes distribuïts de ANE en banda estreta i banda ampla sobre una ASN amb una comunicació col·laborativa i composta per nodes acústics. Es presenten a més resultats experimentals per a validar l'ús dels algorismes distribuïts proposats en el treball per a aplicacions pràctiques. Per a això, s'ha dissenyat un programari de simulació acústica que permet analitzar el rendiment dels algorismes desenvolupats en la tesi. Finalment, s'ha realitzat una implementació pràctica que permet executar aplicacions multicanal de SFC. Per a això, s'ha desenvolupat un prototip en temps real que controla les aplicacions de ANC i ANE utilitzant nodes acústics col·laboratius. El prototip consisteix en dos sistemes de control d'àudio personalitzat (PAC) compostos per un seient de cotxe i un node acústic, el qual està equipat amb dos altaveus, dos micròfons i un processador amb capacitat de comunicació entre els dos nodes. D'aquesta manera, és possible crear dues zones independents de control de soroll que milloren el confort acústic de l'usuari sense necessitat d'utilitzar auriculars.[EN] This thesis fits into the field of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), especially in the area of digital signal processing. Nowadays and due to the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), there is a growing interest in wireless sensor networks (WSN), that is, networks composed of different types of devices specifically distributed in some area to perform different signal processsing tasks. These devices, also referred to as nodes, are usually equipped with electroacoustic transducers as well as powerful and efficient processors with communication capability. In the particular case of acoustic sensor networks (ASN), nodes are dedicated to solving different acoustic signal processing tasks. These audio signal processing applications have been undergone a major development in recent years due in part to the advances made in computer hardware and software. The development of powerful centralized processing systems has allowed the number of audio channels to be increased, the control area to be extended or more complex algorithmms to be implemented. In most cases, a distributed ASN topology can be desirable due to several factors such as the limited number of channels used by the sound acquisition and reproduction devices, the convenience of a scalable system or the high computational demands of a centralized fashion. All these aspects may lead to the use of novel distributed signal processing techniques with the aim to be applied over ASNs. To this end, one of the main contributions of this dissertation is the development of adaptive filtering algorithms for multichannel sound systems over distributed networks. Note that, for sound field control (SFC) applications, such as active noise control (ANC) or active noise equalization (ANE), acoustic nodes must be not only equipped with sensors but also with actuators in order to control and modify the sound field. However, most of the adaptive distributed networks approaches used to solve soundfield control problems do not take into account that the nodes may interfere or modify the behaviour of the rest. Therefore, other important contribution of this thesis is focused on analyzing how the acoustic system affects the behavior of the nodes within an ASN. In cases where the acoustic environment adversely affects the system stability, several distributed strategies have been proposed for solving the acoustic interference problem with the aim to stabilize ANC control systems. These strategies are based on both collaborative and non-collaborative approaches. Implementation aspects such as hardware constraints, sensor locations, convergenge rate or computational and communication burden, have been also considered on the design of the distributed algorithms. Moreover and with the aim to create independent-zone equalization profiles in the presence of multi-tonal noises, distributed narrowband and broadband ANE algorithms over an ASN with a collaborative learning and composed of acoustic nodes have been presented. Experimental results are presented to validate the use of the distributed algorithms proposed in the work for practical applications. For this purpose, an acoustic simulation software has been specifically designed to analyze the performance of the developed algorithms. Finally, the performance of the proposed distributed algorithms for multichannel SFC applications has been evaluated by means of a real practical implementation. To this end, a real-time prototype that controls both ANC and ANE applications by using collaborative acoustic nodes has been developed. The prototype consists of two personal audio control (PAC) systems composed of a car seat and an acoustic node, which is equipped with two loudspeakers, two microphones and a processor with communications capability. In this way, it is possible to create two independent noise control zones improving the acoustic comfort of the user without the use of headphones.Antoñanzas Manuel, C. (2019). Distributed and Collaborative Processing of Audio Signals: Algorithms, Tools and Applications [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/130209TESISCompendi

Performance analysis and design of FxLMS algorithm in broadband ANC system with online secondary-path modeling

The filtered-x LMS (FxLMS) algorithm has been widely used in active noise control (ANC) systems, where the secondary path is usually estimated online by injecting auxiliary noises. In such an ANC system, the ANC controller and the secondary-path estimator are coupled with each other, which make it difficult to analyze the performance of the entire system. Therefore, a comprehensive performance analysis of broadband ANC systems is not available currently to our best knowledge. In this paper, the convergence behavior of the FxLMS algorithm in broadband ANC systems with online secondary-path modeling is studied. Difference equations which describe the mean and mean square convergence behaviors of the adaptive algorithms are derived. Using these difference equations, the stability of the system is analyzed. Finally, the coupled equations at the steady state are solved to obtain the steady-state excess mean square errors (EMSEs) for the ANC controller and the secondary-path estimator. Computer simulations are conducted to verify the agreement between the simulated and theoretically predicted results. Moreover, using the proposed theoretical analysis, a systematic and simple design procedure for ANC systems is proposed. The usefulness of the theoretical results and design procedure is demonstrated by means of a design example. © 2012 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Designing an algorithm using active noise cancellation for development of a headphone in heavy noise industry

Noise pollution is a very big problem prevailing in the environment these days. The workers working in heavy noise industry gets affected by the high level of noise present in the industries. The results may be as adverse as permanent hearing loss or even heart-attack. Here, I have tried to implement a few algorithms which can be used to develop a headphone which will cancel the noise from the environment. I have introduced various Active Noise Cancellation techniques or algorithms. I have discussed the LMS algorithm, the Filtered-x LMS algorithm, FLANN Filter and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) Algorithm. I have shown their behaviour in presence of linear as well as non-linear noise environment and discussed the application of each under various circumstances

Active Control of Pressure Pulsation in a Switched Inertance Hydraulic System

The nature of digital hydraulic systems may cause pressure pulsation problems. For example, switched inertance hydraulic systems (SIHS), which are applied to adjust or control flow and pressure by a means that does not rely on dissipation of power, have noise problems due to the pulsed nature of the flow. An effective method to reduce the pulsation is important to improve system performance and increase efficiency. Although passive systems to reduce the noise have been shown to be effective in many situations, their attenuation frequency range is limited and they may be bulky. Furthermore, attenuation devices based on expansion chambers, accumulators or hoses are likely to be unsuitable for SIHS as they add compliance to the system and would impair the dynamic response. This thesis is concerned with issues relating to the development of an active noise canceller for attenuating the pressure pulsation which is caused primarily by pulsed flow from high-speed valves in SIHS. Active control methods are widely and successfully applied in the area of structureborne noise (SBN) and air-borne noise (ABN) cancellation. The idea is using the intentional superposition of waves to create a destructive interference pattern such that a reduction of the unwanted noise occurs. However, applications for fluid-borne noise (FBN) attenuation based on the ‘Active noise control (ANC) principle’ are rare due to the restriction of the hardware and experimental apparatus in previous researches. In this thesis, an adaptive controller has been developed for active control of pressure pulsation in hydraulic system. The principle of the adaptive LMS filter and details of the controller design are described and the implementation was carried out through simulation. The designed controller was applied on a vibration test rig initially prior to the hydraulic testing in order to investigate its advantages and limitations in practice. Extensive testing on a switched inertance hydraulic rig proved that the controller, which used a piezoelectric valve with fast response and good bandwidth, is effective and that it has several advantages over previous methods, being effective for low frequency cancellation, with a quick response, and is robust and versatile. A novel method for the accurate measurement of unsteady flowrate in a pipe was proposed. This was applied and validated on a pipe, and was shown to give good results. This method solves the difficulty for measuring the unsteady flowrate currently by using easy-measured signals, such as pressures. It can be used widely for predicting the unsteady flowrate along the pipe.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Development of novel hybrid method and geometrical configuration-based active noise control system for circular cylinder and slat noise prediction and reduction applications

This thesis presents a study about the application of a geometrical configuration-based feedforward adaptive active noise control (ANC) system in the low-frequency range of flow-induced (aeroacoustics) noise cancellation and the investigation on the effects of different geometrical configurations on the cancellation performance in the presence of the residual noise signal magnitude (in decibel) or the average amount of cancellation (in decibel). The first motivation is that according to the literature review, the passive flow control is limited in the practical consideration and the active flow control performs better than the passive flow control, especially for the low-frequency range. Consider the principle of the active flow control is the same as the ANC technique, therefore, it is feasible to apply the ANC technique in cancelling the low-frequency range of the far-field (aeroacoustics) noise, which provides instructions on the future practical experiments. The second motivation is that we want to explore the effects of different geometrical configurations on the cancellation performance and it provides instructions on the implementation in future practical experiments. To predict the far-field (aeroacoustics) noise, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings (FW-H) equations are used separately for unsteady flow calculation and far-field (aeroacoustics) noise prediction. The proposed ANC system is used for the low-frequency range of the far-field (aeroacoustics) noise cancellation. Soft computing techniques and evolutionary-computing-based techniques are employed as the parameter adjustment mechanism to deal with nonlinearities existed in microphones and loudspeakers. The case study about the landing gear noise cancellation in the two-dimensional computational domain is completed. Simulation results validate the accuracy of the obtained acoustic spectrum with reasonable error because of the mesh resolution and computer capacity. It is observed that the two-dimensional approach can only predict discrete values of sound pressure level (SPL) associated with the fundamental frequency (Strouhal number) and its harmonics. Cancellation results demonstrate the cancellation capability of the proposed ANC system for the low-frequency range of far-field (aeroacoustics) noise and reflect that within the reasonable physical distance range, the cancellation performance will be better when the detector is placed closer to the secondary source in comparison with the primary source. This conclusion is the main innovative contribution of this thesis and it provides useful instructions on future practical experiments, but detailed physical distance values must be dependent on individual cases

Nonlinear Time-Frequency Control Theory with Applications

Nonlinear control is an important subject drawing much attention. When a nonlinear system undergoes route-to-chaos, its response is naturally bounded in the time-domain while in the meantime becoming unstably broadband in the frequency-domain. Control scheme facilitated either in the time- or frequency-domain alone is insufficient in controlling route-to-chaos, where the corresponding response deteriorates in the time and frequency domains simultaneously. It is necessary to facilitate nonlinear control in both the time and frequency domains without obscuring or misinterpreting the true dynamics. The objective of the dissertation is to formulate a novel nonlinear control theory that addresses the fundamental characteristics inherent of all nonlinear systems undergoing route-to-chaos, one that requires no linearization or closed-form solution so that the genuine underlying features of the system being considered are preserved. The theory developed herein is able to identify the dynamic state of the system in real-time and restrain time-varying spectrum from becoming broadband. Applications of the theory are demonstrated using several engineering examples including the control of a non-stationary Duffing oscillator, a 1-DOF time-delayed milling model, a 2-DOF micro-milling system, unsynchronized chaotic circuits, and a friction-excited vibrating disk. Not subject to all the mathematical constraint conditions and assumptions upon which common nonlinear control theories are based and derived, the novel theory has its philosophical basis established in the simultaneous time-frequency control, on-line system identification, and feedforward adaptive control. It adopts multi-rate control, hence enabling control over nonstationary, nonlinear response with increasing bandwidth ? a physical condition oftentimes fails the contemporary control theories. The applicability of the theory to complex multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) systems without resorting to mathematical manipulation and extensive computation is demonstrated through the multi-variable control of a micro-milling system. The research is of a broad impact on the control of a wide range of nonlinear and chaotic systems. The implications of the nonlinear time-frequency control theory in cutting, micro-machining, communication security, and the mitigation of friction-induced vibrations are both significant and immediate

Causality study on a feedforward active noise control headset with different noise coming directions in free field

A systematic analysis is proposed to predict the performance of a typical feedforward single channel ANC headset in terms of the delay, especially the non-causal delay caused by different noise coming directions. First, the performance of a non-causal feedforward system for a band-limited noise is analyzed by using a simplified pure delay model, where it is found that the noise reduction bandwidth is narrowed and the maximum noise reduction is decreased with the increase of the non-causal delay. Second, a systematic method is developed, which can be used to predict the system performance with measured primary and secondary path transfer functions in most practical sound fields and to study the effects of the control filter length and the path delay on the performance. Then, the causality of a typical feedforward active noise control headset with the primary source at 0 and 90 positions in an anechoic chamber is analyzed, and the performance for the two locations predicted by the systematic analysis is shown in good agreements with the experiment results. Finally, an experiment of a typical feedforward active noise control headset in a reverberation chamber is carried out, which shows the validity of the proposed systematic analysis for other more practical sound fields. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Adaptive Algorithms Design for Active Noise Control Systems with Disturbance at Reference and Error Microphones

Active noise control (ANC) is a popular choice for mitigating the acoustic noise in the surrounding environment resulting from industrial and medical equipment, appliances, and consumer electronics. ANC cancels the low frequency acoustic noise by generating a cancelling sound from speakers. The speakers are triggered by noise control filters and produce sound waves with the same amplitude and inverted phase to the original sound. Noise control filters are updated by adaptive algorithms. Successful applications of this technology are available in headsets, earplugs, propeller aircraft, cars and mobile phones. Since multiple applications are running simultaneously, efficiency of the adaptive control algorithms in terms of implementation, computations and performance is critical to the performance of the ANC systems. The focus of the present project is on the development of efficient adaptive algorithms that perform optimally in different configurations of ANC systems suitable for real world applications.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, 202

Nonlinear Time-Frequency Control Theory with Applications

Nonlinear control is an important subject drawing much attention. When a nonlinear system undergoes route-to-chaos, its response is naturally bounded in the time-domain while in the meantime becoming unstably broadband in the frequency-domain. Control scheme facilitated either in the time- or frequency-domain alone is insufficient in controlling route-to-chaos, where the corresponding response deteriorates in the time and frequency domains simultaneously. It is necessary to facilitate nonlinear control in both the time and frequency domains without obscuring or misinterpreting the true dynamics. The objective of the dissertation is to formulate a novel nonlinear control theory that addresses the fundamental characteristics inherent of all nonlinear systems undergoing route-to-chaos, one that requires no linearization or closed-form solution so that the genuine underlying features of the system being considered are preserved. The theory developed herein is able to identify the dynamic state of the system in real-time and restrain time-varying spectrum from becoming broadband. Applications of the theory are demonstrated using several engineering examples including the control of a non-stationary Duffing oscillator, a 1-DOF time-delayed milling model, a 2-DOF micro-milling system, unsynchronized chaotic circuits, and a friction-excited vibrating disk. Not subject to all the mathematical constraint conditions and assumptions upon which common nonlinear control theories are based and derived, the novel theory has its philosophical basis established in the simultaneous time-frequency control, on-line system identification, and feedforward adaptive control. It adopts multi-rate control, hence enabling control over nonstationary, nonlinear response with increasing bandwidth ? a physical condition oftentimes fails the contemporary control theories. The applicability of the theory to complex multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) systems without resorting to mathematical manipulation and extensive computation is demonstrated through the multi-variable control of a micro-milling system. The research is of a broad impact on the control of a wide range of nonlinear and chaotic systems. The implications of the nonlinear time-frequency control theory in cutting, micro-machining, communication security, and the mitigation of friction-induced vibrations are both significant and immediate