A target guided subband filter for acoustic event detection in noisy environments using wavelet packets

This paper deals with acoustic event detection (AED), such as screams, gunshots, and explosions, in noisy environments. The main aim is to improve the detection performance under adverse conditions with a very low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). A novel filtering method combined with an energy detector is presented. The wavelet packet transform (WPT) is first used for time-frequency representation of the acoustic signals. The proposed filter in the wavelet packet domain then uses a priori knowledge of the target event and an estimate of noise features to selectively suppress the background noise. It is in fact a content-aware band-pass filter which can automatically pass the frequency bands that are more significant in the target than in the noise. Theoretical analysis shows that the proposed filtering method is capable of enhancing the target content while suppressing the background noise for signals with a low SNR. A condition to increase the probability of correct detection is also obtained. Experiments have been carried out on a large dataset of acoustic events that are contaminated by different types of environmental noise and white noise with varying SNRs. Results show that the proposed method is more robust and better adapted to noise than ordinary energy detectors, and it can work even with an SNR as low as -15 dB. A practical system for real time processing and multi-target detection is also proposed in this work

A Hazard Analysis Based Approach to Improve the Landing Safety of a Blended-wing-body Remotely Piloted Vehicle

AbstractThe BUAA-BWB remotely piloted vehicle (RPV) designed by our research team encountered an unexpected landing safety problem in flight experiments. It has obviously affected further research project for Blended-wing-body (BWB) aircraft configuration characteristics. Searching for a safety improvement is an urgent requirement in the development work of the RPV. Combining with vehicle characteristics, a new systemic method called System-Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA) has been imported to apply on the RPV flight experiment hazard analysis. An uncontrolled system behavior “path sagging phenomenon” is identified by implementing a 3 degree of freedom simulation based on wind tunnel experiment data and establishing landing safety system dynamics archetype, then a derived safety improvement requirement emerges. To obtain higher safety design effectiveness and considering safety design precedence, a new longitudinal control surface “belly-flap” is used to eliminate hazards in landing. Finally, Flight experiments show that the hazardous factor has been correctly identified and the landing safety has been efficiently improved