Aston algorithm

A new study on the way humans perceive and organise speech could lead to better algorithms that will improve the accuracy of speech recognition systems.

Researchers from Aston University hope the results of their EPSRC-funded project will indirectly lead to speech recognition systems that better target a person's voice in the midst of loud background noise, such as that found on the factory floor. The research could also offer significant improvements to hearing aids.

It is fairly uncommon in everyday life for people to hear the speech of a person talking in the absence of other background sounds, and so the human auditory system is faced with the challenge of grouping together sounds that come from one source and segregating them from those arising from other sources.

'People have just speculated until now how this is achieved,' explained Brian Roberts, the project’s principal investigator, 'but we thought with a very systematic study we might be able to unravel the mystery a bit further.'