Hearing aid controlled by binaural source localizer

An adaptive directional hearing aid system comprising a left hearing aid and a right hearing aid, wherein a binaural acoustic source localizer is located in the left hearing aid or in the right hearing aid or in a separate body- worn device connected wirelessly to the left hearing aid and the right hearing aid, the binaural acoustic source localizer configured to receive input signals from the left hearing aid and the right hearing aid and generate a control signal to control the update of a first adaptive beam former in the left hearing aid and a second adaptive beam former in the second hearing aid is disclosed. The disclosed system improves speech intelligibility and listening comfort for the user in noisy environments

Audio Processing

An audio processing arrangement (200) comprises a plurality of audio sources (101, 102) generating input audio signals, a processing circuit (110) for deriving processed audio signals from the input audio signals, a combining circuit (120) for deriving a combined audio signalfrom the processed audio signals, and a control circuit (130) for controlling the processing circuit in order to maximize a power measure of the combined audio signal and for limiting a function of gains of the processed audio signals to a predetermined value. In accordance with the present invention, the audio processing arrangement (200) comprises a pre-processing circuit (140) for deriving pre-processed audio signals from the input audio signals to minimize a cross-correlation of interferences comprised in the input audio signals. The pre-processed signals are provided to the processing circuit (110) instead of the input audio signals

Multiple-model based update of belgian reference road data

This paper describes a semi-automatic system for road update based on high resolution orthophotos and 3D surface models. Potential update regions are identified by an object-wise verification of all existing database records, followed by a scene-wide detection of redevelopment regions. The proposed system combines several road detection and road verification approaches from current literature to form a more general solution. Each road detection / verification approach is realized as an independent module representing a unique road model combined with a corresponding processing strategy. The object-wise verification result of each module is formulated as a binary decision between the classes "correct road" and "incorrect road". These individual decisions are combined by Dempster-Shafer fusion, which provides tools for dealing with uncertain and incomplete knowledge about the statistical properties of the data. For each road detection / verification module a confidence function for the result is introduced that reflects the degree of correspondence of an actual test situation with an optimal situation according to the underlying road model of that module. Experimental results achieved with data from the national Belgian road database in a test site of about 134 km(2) demonstrate the potential of the method

Topological effects in ring polymers: A computer simulation study

Unconcatenated, unknotted polymer rings in the melt are subject to strong interactions with neighboring chains due to the presence of topological constraints. We study this by computer simulation using the bond-fluctuation algorithm for chains with up to N=512 statistical segments at a volume fraction \Phi=0.5 and show that rings in the melt are more compact than gaussian chains. A careful finite size analysis of the average ring size R \propto N^{\nu} yields an exponent \nu \approx 0.39 \pm 0.03 in agreement with a Flory-like argument for the topologica interactions. We show (using the same algorithm) that the dynamics of molten rings is similar to that of linear chains of the same mass, confirming recent experimental findings. The diffusion constant varies effectively as D_{N} \propto N^{-1.22(3) and is slightly higher than that of corresponding linear chains. For the ring sizes considered (up to 256 statistical segments) we find only one characteristic time scale \tau_{ee} \propto N^{2.0(2); this is shown by the collapse of several mean-square displacements and correlation functions onto corresponding master curves. Because of the shrunken state of the chain, this scaling is not compatible with simple Rouse motion. It applies for all sizes of ring studied and no sign of a crossover to any entangled regime is found.Comment: 20 Pages,11 eps figures, Late

Self-diffusion in binary blends of cyclic and linear polymers

A lattice model is used to estimate the self-diffusivity of entangled cyclic and linear polymers in blends of varying compositions. To interpret simulation results, we suggest a minimal model based on the physical idea that constraints imposed on a cyclic polymer by infiltrating linear chains have to be released, before it can diffuse beyond a radius of gyration. Both, the simulation, and recently reported experimental data on entangled DNA solutions support the simple model over a wide range of blend compositions, concentrations, and molecular weights.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure