voiceHome-2 corpus - localization and speech enhancement baseline - code

Baseline scripts for localization and speech enhancement for the voiceHome-2 corpus, a corpus dedicated to distant-microphone speech processing in domestic environments that is available at https://zenodo.org/record/1252143 and described in the paper N. Bertin, E. Camberlein, R. Lebarbenchon, E. Vincent, S. Sivasankaran, I. Illina and F. Bimbot: VoiceHome-2, an extended corpus for multichannel speech processing in real homes, Speech Communication, Elsevier : North-Holland, 2019, 106, pp.68-78. ⟨10.1016/j.specom.2018.11.002⟩

Evaluation of an Open-Source Implementation of the SRP-PHAT Algorithm within the 2018 Locata Challenge

International audienceThis short paper presents an efficient, flexible implementation of the SRP-PHAT multichannel sound source localization method. The method is evaluated on the single-source tasks of the LOCATA 2018 development dataset, and an associated Matlab toolbox is made available online

VoiceHome-2, an extended corpus for multichannel speech processing in real homes

International audienceWe present a new, extended version of the voiceHome corpus for distant-microphone speech processing in domestic environments. This 5-hour corpus includes short reverberated, noisy utterances (smart home commands) spoken in French by 12 native French talkers in diverse realistic acoustic conditions and recorded by an 8-microphone device at various angles and distances and in various noise conditions. Noise-only segments before and after each utterance are included in the recordings. Clean speech and spontaneous speech recorded in 12 real rooms distributed in 4 different homes are also available. All data have been fully annotated. At last, we provide baseline software for speaker and noise localization, enhancement by source separation, and automatic speech recognition. This corpus stands apart from other corpora in the field by the number of rooms and homes considered and by the fact that it is publicly available at no cost. We describe the corpus specifications and annotations and the data recorded so far, and we report baseline results

Predator and scavenger movements among and within endangered seabird colonies: opportunities for pathogen spread

International audience1. The spatial structure of host communities is expected to constrain pathogen spread. However, predators and/or scavengers may connect distant host (sub)populations when foraging. Determining whether some individuals or populations play a prominent role in the spread of pathogens is critical to inform management measures.2. We explored movements and epidemiological status of brown skuas (Stercorarius antarcticus), the only avian terrestrial consumer native of Amsterdam Island (Indian Ocean), to assess whether and how they could be involved in the spread of the bacterium Pasteurella multocida, which recurrently causes avian cholera outbreaks in endangered albatross and penguin species breeding on the island.3. High proportions of seropositive and DNA-positive individuals for P. multocida indicated that skuas are highly exposed to the pathogen and may be able to transmit it. Movement tracking revealed that the foraging ranges of breeding skuas largely overlap among individuals and expand all along the coasts where albatrosses and penguins nest, but not on the inland plateau hosting the endemic Amsterdam albatross (Diomedea amsterdamensis).4. Considering the epidemiological and movement data, skua movements may provide opportunity for pathogen spread among and within seabird colonies.5. Synthesis and applications. This work highlights the importance of considering the behaviour and epidemiological status of predators and scavengers in disease dynamics because the foraging movements of individuals of such species can potentially limit the efficiency of local management measures in spatially-structured host communities. Such species could thus represent priority vaccination targets to implement efficient management measures aiming at limiting pathogen spread and also be used as sentinels to monitor pathogen circulation and evaluate the effectiveness of management measures.1. La circulation d’agents infectieux dans les populations sauvages peut être fortement contrainte par la structuration spatiale de leurs communautés d’hôtes. Cependant, de par leurs comportements alimentaires, certains prédateurs et/ou charognards peuvent connecter des(sous-)populations spatialement éloignées. Identifier les individus ou populations susceptibles de jouer un rôle prépondérant dans la dissémination d’agents infectieux pathogènes est un élément clé pour la compréhension, et éventuellement le contrôle, des dynamiquesépidémiologiques dans les populations sauvages.2. Dans ce contexte, nous avons suivi les déplacements et statuts épidémiologiques de labbes subantarctiques (Stercorarius antarcticus), uniques prédateurs et charognards terrestres aviaires natifs de l’île Amsterdam (Océan Indien), afin d’évaluer leur implication dans la dissémination de Pasteurella multocida, la bactérie responsable d’épizooties récurrentes de choléra aviaire affectant les albatros et gorfous de l’île.3. Les fortes proportions d’individus positifs à P. multocida par sérologie et PCR indiquent que les labbes sont très exposés à la bactérie et susceptibles de la transmettre. Par ailleurs le suivi des déplacements d’individus reproducteurs a révélé que les zones de recherche alimentaire individuelles des labbes se superposent et s’étendent tout le long de la partie de côte occupée par les albatros et les gorfous. Au contraire, le plateau central où se reproduit l’albatros d’Amsterdan (Diomedea amsterdamensis), espèce endémique de l’île, ne semble pas visité par les labbes en reproduction.4. Compte tenu des données épidémiologiques et écologiques présentées les labbes sont susceptibles de contribuer à dissémination d’agents infectieux au sein et entre des colonies d’oiseaux marins menacés d’extinction.5. Synthèse et applications. Cette étude met en évidence l’importance de prendre en considération le comportement et le statut épidémiologique des prédateurs et charognards lors de la mise en place de programmes de contrôle de dynamiques épidémiologiques. En effet, le comportement alimentaire de telles espèces peut limiter l’efficacité des mesures locales malgré l’apparente structuration spatiale des populations affectée. Prédateurs et charognards peuvent ainsi représenter des cibles prioritaires pour les programmes de vaccination visant à limiter la dissémination d’agents infectieux pathogènes mais également être utilisés comme sentinelles pour en suivre la circulation et évaluer l’efficacité des programmes de contrôle

A French corpus for distant-microphone speech processing in real homes

International audienceWe introduce a new corpus for distant-microphone speech processing in domestic environments. This corpus includes reverberated , noisy speech signals spoken by native French talkers in a lounge and recorded by an 8-microphone device at various angles and distances and in various noise conditions. Room impulse responses and noise-only signals recorded in various real rooms and homes and baseline speaker localization and enhancement software are also provided. This corpus stands apart from other corpora in the field by the number of rooms and homes considered and by the fact that it is publicly available at no cost. We describe the corpus specifications and annotations and the data recorded so far. We report baseline results