Acoustic Echo Cancellation: Dual Architecture Implementation

Problem statement: With the rise in mobile communication, it is becoming more frequent to use a communication device in an enclosed noisy environment, such as a subway or in a lobby. In this setting however, the received microphone is severely degraded by the echo from the speaker and background noise. The audio processing necessary to clarify the desired speech can be broken down into two parts, removal of the acoustic echo and removal of the background noise. Approach: This study proposed an ‘external-switched’ algorithm of a dual architecture implementation for acoustic echo cancellation. Using the orthogonality property of adaptive algorithms to detect convergence, two complete adaptive filters can be run in parallel to take advantage of each filter’s particular configuration. By configuring one filter for fast adaptation and the second for minimizing the steady state error, a system can be designed with the advantages of both without suffering from increased computational cost. Results: A slight performance improvement can be demonstrated with this system; however the greatest advantage is in the reduced filter size and calculation cost. Conclusion: This parallel approach is suitable for systems in which a single approach to acoustic echo cancellation is insufficient. Disadvantages of one algorithm can be mitigated by being able to switch to a more effective algorithm seamlessly.