Acoustic research for telecoms: bridging the heritage to the future
In its early age, telecommunication was focused on voice communications, and acoustics was at the heart of the work related to speech coding and transmission, automatic speech recognition or speech synthesis, aiming at offering better quality (Quality of Experience or QoE) and enhanced services to u...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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EDP Sciences
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Acta Acustica |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://acta-acustica.edpsciences.org/articles/aacus/full_html/2023/01/aacus230021/aacus230021.html |
| _version_ | 1797367358388436992 |
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| author | Nicol Rozenn Monfort Jean-Yves |
| author_facet | Nicol Rozenn Monfort Jean-Yves |
| author_sort | Nicol Rozenn |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In its early age, telecommunication was focused on voice communications, and acoustics was at the heart of the work related to speech coding and transmission, automatic speech recognition or speech synthesis, aiming at offering better quality (Quality of Experience or QoE) and enhanced services to users. As technology has evolved, the research themes have diversified, but acoustics remains essential. This paper gives an overview of the evolution of acoustic research for telecommunication. Communication was initially (and for a long time) only audio with a monophonic narrow-band sound (i.e. [300–3400 Hz]). After the bandwidth extension (from the wide-band [100–7000 Hz] to the full-band [20 Hz–20 kHz] range), a new break was the introduction of 3D sound, either to provide telepresence in audioconferencing or videoconferencing, or to enhance the QoE of contents such as radio, television, VOD, or video games. Loudspeaker or microphone arrays have been deployed to implement “Holophonic” or “Ambisonic” systems. The interaction between spatialized sounds and 3D images was also investigated. At the end of the 2000s, smartphones invaded our lives. Binaural sound was immediately acknowledged as the most suitable technology for reproducing 3D audio on smartphones. However, to achieve a satisfactory QoE, binaural filters need to be customized in relation with the listener’s morphology. This question is the main obstacle to a mass-market distribution of binaural sound, and its solving has prompted a large amount of work. In parallel with the development of technologies, their perceptual evaluation was an equally important area of research. In addition to conventional methods, innovative approaches have been explored for the assessment of sound spatialization, such as physiological measurement, neuroscience tools or Virtual Reality (VR). The latest development is the use of acoustics as a universal sensor for the Internet of Things (IoT) and connected environments. Microphones can be deployed, preferably with parcimony, in order to monitor surrounding sounds, with the goal of detecting information or events thanks to models of automatic sound recognition based on neural networks. Applications range from security and personal assistance to acoustic measurement of biodiversity. As for the control of environments or objects, voice commands have become widespread in recent years thanks to the tremendous progress made in speech recognition, but an even more intuitive mode based on direct control by the mind is proposed by Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs), which rely on sensory stimulation using different modalities, among which the auditory one offers some advantages. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T17:17:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-da29515caa364a0cbcf2da64f0e40b22 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2681-4617 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T17:17:19Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | EDP Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Acustica |
| spelling | doaj.art-da29515caa364a0cbcf2da64f0e40b222024-01-03T10:47:20ZengEDP SciencesActa Acustica2681-46172023-01-0176410.1051/aacus/2023056aacus230021Acoustic research for telecoms: bridging the heritage to the futureNicol Rozenn0https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7060-1445Monfort Jean-Yves1Orange LabsPrésident du Centre de Découverte du Son, KerouspicIn its early age, telecommunication was focused on voice communications, and acoustics was at the heart of the work related to speech coding and transmission, automatic speech recognition or speech synthesis, aiming at offering better quality (Quality of Experience or QoE) and enhanced services to users. As technology has evolved, the research themes have diversified, but acoustics remains essential. This paper gives an overview of the evolution of acoustic research for telecommunication. Communication was initially (and for a long time) only audio with a monophonic narrow-band sound (i.e. [300–3400 Hz]). After the bandwidth extension (from the wide-band [100–7000 Hz] to the full-band [20 Hz–20 kHz] range), a new break was the introduction of 3D sound, either to provide telepresence in audioconferencing or videoconferencing, or to enhance the QoE of contents such as radio, television, VOD, or video games. Loudspeaker or microphone arrays have been deployed to implement “Holophonic” or “Ambisonic” systems. The interaction between spatialized sounds and 3D images was also investigated. At the end of the 2000s, smartphones invaded our lives. Binaural sound was immediately acknowledged as the most suitable technology for reproducing 3D audio on smartphones. However, to achieve a satisfactory QoE, binaural filters need to be customized in relation with the listener’s morphology. This question is the main obstacle to a mass-market distribution of binaural sound, and its solving has prompted a large amount of work. In parallel with the development of technologies, their perceptual evaluation was an equally important area of research. In addition to conventional methods, innovative approaches have been explored for the assessment of sound spatialization, such as physiological measurement, neuroscience tools or Virtual Reality (VR). The latest development is the use of acoustics as a universal sensor for the Internet of Things (IoT) and connected environments. Microphones can be deployed, preferably with parcimony, in order to monitor surrounding sounds, with the goal of detecting information or events thanks to models of automatic sound recognition based on neural networks. Applications range from security and personal assistance to acoustic measurement of biodiversity. As for the control of environments or objects, voice commands have become widespread in recent years thanks to the tremendous progress made in speech recognition, but an even more intuitive mode based on direct control by the mind is proposed by Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs), which rely on sensory stimulation using different modalities, among which the auditory one offers some advantages.https://acta-acustica.edpsciences.org/articles/aacus/full_html/2023/01/aacus230021/aacus230021.htmltelecommunicationspatial audio (wavefield synthesis – wfs, higher order ambisonics – hoa, binaural)quality of experienceelectroencephalogram (eeg)automatic sound recognition |
| spellingShingle | Nicol Rozenn Monfort Jean-Yves Acoustic research for telecoms: bridging the heritage to the future Acta Acustica telecommunication spatial audio (wavefield synthesis – wfs, higher order ambisonics – hoa, binaural) quality of experience electroencephalogram (eeg) automatic sound recognition |
| title | Acoustic research for telecoms: bridging the heritage to the future |
| title_full | Acoustic research for telecoms: bridging the heritage to the future |
| title_fullStr | Acoustic research for telecoms: bridging the heritage to the future |
| title_full_unstemmed | Acoustic research for telecoms: bridging the heritage to the future |
| title_short | Acoustic research for telecoms: bridging the heritage to the future |
| title_sort | acoustic research for telecoms bridging the heritage to the future |
| topic | telecommunication spatial audio (wavefield synthesis – wfs, higher order ambisonics – hoa, binaural) quality of experience electroencephalogram (eeg) automatic sound recognition |
| url | https://acta-acustica.edpsciences.org/articles/aacus/full_html/2023/01/aacus230021/aacus230021.html |
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