Departamento de Ingeniería de Telecomunicación

URI permanente para esta comunidadhttps://hdl.handle.net/10953/39

En esta Comunidad se recogen los documentos generados por el Departamento de Ingeniería de Telecomunicación y que cumplen los requisitos de Copyright para su difusión en acceso abierto.

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Integration of online laboratories-LMS via SCORM
(IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), 2014-01-27) Ruano-Ruano, Ildefonso; Gómez-Ortega, Juan; Gámez-García, Javier; Estévez-Estévez, Elísabet
Abstract: Web-based laboratories have been used as valuable resources to support teaching for many years. The methodology and operation of laboratories over the Internet have changed considerably since the early implementations. In fact, one of the last steps taken related to this issue has been the integration of laboratories and Learning Management Systems (LMS). In this paper we present methods that facilitate the development of virtual and/or remote labs software to interact with Learning Management Systems using Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM), the most important standard for e-learning content. A virtual lab model is developed to show how the methods are used in order to integrate the virtual lab software with the LMS via SCORM.
Building SCORM embedded WebLabs with LMS interaction
(IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), 2015-02-19) Ruano Ruano, Ildefonso; García Gámez, Javier; Gómez Ortega, Juan
Abstract: This paper outlines a new procedure for building educational Web Laboratories (WebLabs). These WebLabs are based on JAVA and are offered to learners from Learning Management Systems (LMSs). The Virtual-Remote Laboratories (VRL) are JAVA Applets embedded in Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) packages that are able to interact with the LMS where they are hosted. This interaction is based on the exchange of information defined by the Run-Time Environment (RTE) and the Run-Time Navigation (RTN) SCORM data models. Both models are managed by the LMS where the SCORM content has been loaded. There are three types of data: read-only, write-only and read/write. In addition, a new JAVA package called scormRTE is presented; it has been developed to facilitate the VRL-LMS information exchange. This package enables a JAVA applet to manipulate directly all the elements of RTN and RTE data models. For the validation, a VRL, created with Easy Java Simulations (EJS), has been developed using this proposal. This VRL has been embedded into a SCORM package in order to build a virtual WebLab about dynamic system modeling. In particular, it is the modelling and identification of a car's suspension dynamics. This WebLab is used in an Industrial Automation course that is offered in several Engineering Grades of the University of Jaén. It is available in the institutional LMS.
A SCORM based package model for WebLabs
(IEEE(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), 2015-02-19) Ruano-Ruano, Ildefonso; Gámez-García, Javier; Dormido Bencomo, Sebastián; Gómez Ortega, Juan
Abstract: Web Laboratories (WebLabs) are essential resources for engineering education. Within this type of laboratory, a new Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) package design model is shown in this work. The proposed model is based on a set of resources that form a complete educational structure; taking into account the sequencing and navigation among the elements that compose it. In addition, it can be uploaded to a Learning Management System (LMS), offering to the students an effective tool to work with web labs. The package is structured in 4 sections or pages: Introduction, Theory, Virtual/Remote Laboratory (VRL) and Assessment; where the last performs an automated verification of the work done by the learner. In this way, one of the advantage of this methodology is that the instant results of the assessments, performed by the SCORM package, is stored in the inner LMS. Some WebLabs performing this methodology are being developed in the University of Jaén. In this work, an example is developed: "Modelling of Dynamic System: DC Motor". This WebLab is used in the Industrial Automation course that is included in several Industrial Engineering degrees.
PID Control WebLab with LMS Integration Using SCORM
(Elsevier ScienceDirect, 2015-11) Ruano Ruano, Ildefonso; Cano Marchal, Pablo; Gámez García, Javier; Gómez Ortega, Juan
Abstract Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller is an essential content of the Automation subjects in many Engineering degrees. The PID controller theory should be supported by some practices that help students to bring the “real world” into an otherwise theoretical education. This paper presents a PID Control WebLab that has been developed with a set of related learning resources using an innovative methodology. Traditional laboratories lessons have been adapted to an e-learning strategy based on a virtual laboratory embedded into a Shared Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) package along with a set of related learning resources. The result is a SCORM package including a learning path with specific theory, tests and a series of experiments where the assessment of the work performed by each student is recorded in the Learning Management System (LMS). The package itself constitutes a learning resource that can be reused in any SCORM supported LMS. This PID Control WebLab has been offered to 340 students of the “Industrial Automation” subject of the University of Jaén in the 2014-15 course. Several evaluations of this WebLab, also included in this paper, demonstrate that this proposal has produced excellent results in the knowledge obtained by the students, the WebLab has helped students to pass the subject final exam and it has been highly regarded by its users: the learners.
Advanced LMS Integration of SCORM Web Laboratories
(IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), 2016-07-07) Ruano, Ildefonso; Cano, Pablo; Gámez, Javier
Abstract: E-learning and its hybrid counterpart—B-learning—have become standard tools in higher education. The development of information and communications technologies (ICTs) and their application to education has made this possible. Among ICT technologies, the learning management system (LMS) has been the most important development. Teaching labs have also undergone a technological evolution, enabling them to be used online while interacting closely with LMSs. This paper presents a set of procedures that ease the integration of Java and JavaScript laboratories with LMSs in order to obtain adaptive learning contents, which are presented customized to students based on their likes and results. It describes innovative tools implemented by us as a Java package, a JavaScript library, and associated resources that achieve an advanced Lab-LMS integration in a shared content object reference model (SCORM) environment. These resources simplify communications between the elements of an SCORM content package, including the embedded Web laboratory, and the LMS where they are hosted. This paper describes the tools, procedures, and discusses its possibilities and advantages, and shows the results of several use cases of Web Labs delivered to undergraduate engineering students at University of Jaén that prove the validity of the proposal obtaining adapted learning and good results.
A Methodology to Obtain Learning Effective Laboratories with Learning Management System Integration
(IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), 2016-07-27) Ruano, Ildefonso; Gámez, Javier; Dormido, Sebastián; Gómez, Juan
Abstract: Online laboratories are useful and valuable resources in high education, especially in engineering studies. This work presents a methodology to create effective laboratories for learning that interact with a Learning Management System (LMS) to achieve advanced integration. It is based on pedagogical aspects and considers not only the laboratory application itself but also related resources that complement it. The methodology is flexible, covers all possible cases, and it is structured in stages that can be used with any system architecture, standards, or type of online laboratory (virtual, remote, or hybrid) because it abstracts technical aspects at a high level. This methodology facilitates the creation of new online labs so that any teacher, even those without specialized knowledge, can clarify many of the questions that may arise and gain understanding of how to implement an effective online laboratory with LMS integration to assist learning. As an example and validation of the methodology, this work describes a laboratory developed as a Shared Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) package which is hosted in the institutional LMS at the University of Jaen. The laboratory was presented to 338 students taking an Industrial Automation class, and student evaluations were quite positive.
Laboratorio Web SCORM de Control PID con Integración Avanzada
(Elsevier - ScienceDirect, 2016-10) Ruano Ruano, Ildefonso; Gámez García, Javier; Gómez Ortega, Juan
Resumen. Los laboratorios Web (WebLabs) son recursos cada vez más utilizados en las carreras técnicas universitarias. Cuando se presentan integrados en un sistema de gestión de aprendizaje (LMS, Learning Management System) se obtienen una serie de ventajas para alumnos y docentes entre las que destaca el hecho de mostrarse en un entorno conocido y la posibilidad de personalizar la experiencia gracias a la identificación de usuarios que realiza el LMS. Este trabajo muestra un WebLab sobre control Proporcional-Integral-Derivativo (PID), un contenido fundamental de las asignaturas de Automática que se encuentra en todos los grados de Ingeniería Industrial. Este WebLab ha sido desarrollado mediante una metodología innovadora con la que se obtiene un recurso de aprendizaje eficaz basado en un paquete SCORM (Shared Content Object Reference Model). SCORM es el estándar de contenidos de e-learning más utilizado y es compatible con la mayoría de los LMS del mercado, esto permite que el WebLab pueda ser reutilizado fácilmente en diferentes entornos LMS. El WebLab contiene un plan de aprendizaje que incluye una serie de recursos de utilidad docente como teoría de control PID, pruebas de evaluación, un laboratorio virtual de control PID de un motor de corriente continua y experimentos personalizados para cada alumno cuyos resultados son almacenados en el LMS. Este WebLab se ha presentado en el LMS institucional de la Universidad de Jaén a 340 alumnos de la asignatura “Automática Industrial” en el curso 2014-15. Los datos de uso han permitido realizar diversas evaluaciones que demuestran que los alumnos que lo han completado han obtenido un rendimiento excelente en el propio WebLab, han conseguido unos resultados muy superiores al resto de alumnos en la evaluación final de la asignatura y lo han valorado muy positivamente. También se ha demostrado la reusabilidad del WebLab en diferentes LMS compatibles con SCORM (ILIAS y Moodle) analizando los problemas que se han planteado en este sentido.
Binaural lateral localization of multiple sources in real environments using a kurtosis-driven split-EM algorithm
(Elsevier, 2018-03) Reche-Lopez, Pedro; Pérez-Lorenzo, José Manuel; Rivas, Fernando; Viciana-Abad, Raquel
In this work a method for an unsupervised lateral localization of simultaneous sound sources is presented. Following a binaural approach, the kurtosis-driven split-EM algorithm (KDS-EM) implemented is able to estimate the direction of arrival of relevant sound sources without knowing a priori their number. Information about the localization is integrated within a period of observation time to serve as an auditory memory in the context of social robotics. Experiments have been conducted using two types of observation times, one shorter with the purpose of analyzing its performance in a reactive level, and other longer that allows the analysis of its contribution as an input of the building process of the sorroundings auditory models that serves to drive a more deliberative behavior. The system has been tested in real and reverberant environments, achieving a good performance based on an over-modeling process that is able to isolate the location of the relevant sources from adverse acoustic effects, such as reverberations.
Multimodal speaker diarization for meetings using volume-evaluated SRP-PHAT and video analysis
(Springer, 2018-04-11) Cabañas-Molero, Pablo Antonio; Lucena, Manuel; Fuertes, José Manuel; Vera-Candeas, Pedro; Ruiz-Reyes, Nicolás
Speaker diarization is traditionally defined as the problem of determining “who speaks when” given an audio or video stream. This is an important task in many applications for meeting rooms, including automatic transcription of conversations, camera steering or content summarization. When the room is equipped with microphone arrays and cameras, speakers can be distinguished according to their location and the problem can be addressed through localization techniques. This article proposes a multimodal speaker diarization system for meeting environments based on a modified SRP-PHAT function evaluated on space volumes rather than discrete points. In our system, this function is used in combination with a circular array, enabling audio-based localization based on the selection of local maxima. Voicing detection is used to detect speech frames, whereas video analysis is introduced to aid in the decision when users move or simultaneously speak. The approach is evaluated on the well-known AMI dataset with approximately 100 hours of realistic meeting recordings and shows an average diarization error rate of 21% – 25%.
Multichannel Blind Sound Source Separation Using Spatial Covariance Model With Level and Time Differences and Nonnegative Matrix Factorization
(IEEE, 2018-04-27) Carabias-Orti, Julio José; Nikunen, Joonas; Virtanen, Tuomas; Vera-Candeas, Pedro
This paper presents an algorithm for multichannel sound source separation using explicit modeling of level and time differences in source spatial covariance matrices (SCM). We propose a novel SCM model in which the spatial properties are modeled by the weighted sum of direction of arrival (DOA) kernels. DOA kernels are obtained as the combination of phase and level difference covariance matrices representing both time and level differences between microphones for a grid of predefined source directions. The proposed SCM model is combined with the NMF model for the magnitude spectrograms. Opposite to other SCM models in the literature, in this work, source localization is implicitly defined in the model and estimated during the signal factorization. Therefore, no localization preprocessing is required. Parameters are estimated using complex-valued nonnegative matrix factorization with both Euclidean distance and Itakura-Saito divergence. Separation performance of the proposed system is evaluated using the two-channel SiSEC development dataset and four channels signals recorded in a regular room with moderate reverberation. Finally, a comparison to other state-of-the-art methods is performed, showing better achieved separation performance in terms of SIR and perceptual measures.
Attentional Mechanism Based on a Microphone Array for Embedded Devices and a Single Camera
(Springer, 2018-11-21) Martínez-Colón, Antonio; Pérez-Lorenzo, José Manuel; Rivas, Fernando; Viciana-Abad, Raquel; Reche-López, Pedro
This work presents an attentional mechanism with the capability of detecting the localization of a speaker for interaction purposes, based on audio and video information. The localization is computed in terms of azimuth and elevation angles, to be used as input values for controlling mobile systems such as a pan-tilt videocamera or a robotic head. For this purpose the SRP-PHAT algorithm has been implemented with a commercial array of microphones for embedded devices, in order to estimate the localization of a sound source in the surroundings of the array. In order to improve the limitations of the SRP-PHAT algorithm in the estimation of the z coordinate, the elevation angle is corrected via video information by using Haar cascade classifiers for face detection. Simulations and experiments show the accuracy of the system, as well as the application for controlling a pan-tilt videocamera in a real scenario with speakers and ambient noise.
A novel wheezing detection approach based on constrained non-negative matrix factorization
(Elsevier, 2019-05-01) Torre-Cruz, Juan; Cañadas-Quesada, Francisco Jesús; Carabias-Orti, Julio José; Vera-Candeas, Pedro; Ruiz-Reyes, Nicolás
The early wheezing detection is still a challenging task in biomedical signal processing because the presence of wheeze sounds often indicate respiratory diseases from airway obstructions. Currently, most of the first clinical examinations to detect any airway obstructions are carried out using auscultation. However, a high percentage of diagnoses are misdiagnosed since they are highly dependent on the physician’s training in the wheezing detection, especially in noisy environments in which weak wheeze sounds can be masked by louder respiratory sounds. In this work, we propose a novel wheezing detection approach, based on Constrained Non-negative Matrix Factorization, that uses two-stage cascade: separation and detection. The novelty of the separation stage is to model wheeze and respiratory sounds as reliably as possible that they can be observed in the nature incorporating constraints (sparseness and smoothness) into the NMF factorization. Once the estimated wheezing and respiratory signal are obtained from the separation stage, the detection contribution is based on the use of the Kullback-Leibler divergence to discriminate between wheezing and respiratory areas. The experiments have been conducted using three different datasets composed of healthy or unhealthy patients. First, an optimization process is applied to obtain the optimal parameters of the separation stage. Finally, the performance of the wheezing detection of the proposed method is evaluated taking into account other state-of-the-art methods. Experimental results report that i) the proposed method outperforms recent state-of-the-art wheezing detection approaches showing a robust wheezing detection performance even evaluating noisy environments and ii) the ability of the proposal to reliably detect healthy patients.
Jump to the Next Level: A Four-Year Gamification Experiment in Information Technology Engineering
(IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2019-08-02) Cuevas-Martínez, Juan Carlos; Yuste-Delgado, Antonio Jesús; Pérez-Lorenzo, José Manuel; Triviño-Cabrera, Alicia
Higher education in Spain has to deal with constant troubles and uncertainties due to the economic crisis, high rates of unemployment in young people, lack for study habits in secondary school and legal fluctuations. This uncertain environment does not foster student effort and it is behind the important rates of abandon in higher education. The Bologna Process was thought to create a new paradigm in higher education in the European Union. However, the changes came from the top (governments) to the bottom (lectures and students) so they were not properly supported by specialized training oriented to lecturers. It did not include the appropriate changes in lower education stages (secondary education) to prepare student when facing University. Therefore, in the past decade several new teaching methodologies have appeared to deal with student demotivation and to fight against dropouts. Those methodologies try to keep the students engaged during the whole course paying more attention to their learning process, attitudes, motivations and expectations. Consequently, in this paper, we present a four year experiment whose main objective is to keep students engaged during the whole year and to foster their motivation in order to increase their learning outcomes. The experiment is based on the application of gamification to the assessment process emulating a traditional platform video-game, like Super Mario. The results show that this experiment was positive for most students who achieved good marks and good rates of task completion.
Monitoring the internal quality of ornamental stone using impact-echo testing
(Elsevier, 2019-12-01) Montiel-Zafra, María Violeta; Cañadas-Quesada, Francisco Jesús; Campos-Suñol, María José; Vera-Candeas, Pedro; Ruiz-Reyes, Nicolás
The decay and durability of stone materials is a natural response to the progressive adjustment to different environmental and harsh conditions. Usually stone building elements with no apparent sign of decay are affected by the loss of cohesion. Non-invasive, early and low-cost identification of the internal damage of stone materials would be a great step forward. This paper presents an impact-echo (IE) method to analyse the internal quality of ornamental stone. The proposed method attempts to estimate the P-wave velocity in the material applying a frequency estimator that best explains the energy distribution of the possible modes of vibration from the captured IE signals. The velocity estimation will be analysed along a set of freeze-thawing cycles in order to establish a correlation with the internal damage caused in the material confirmed by its porosity. This value has been measured after several freezing-thawing cycles at each stone specimen. Experimental results show that the proposed method can be considered as a valid and effective tool for determining the internal damage of ornamental stone materials. Besides, the proposed method could be easily adapted to analyse specimens of different sizes, shapes and types of rocks.
A constrained tonal semi-supervised non-negative matrix factorization to classify presence/absence of wheezing in respiratory sounds
(Elsevier, 2020-04-01) Torre-Cruz, Juan; Cañadas-Quesada, Francisco Jesús; García-Galán, Sebastián; Ruiz-Reyes, Nicolás; Vera-Candeas, Pedro; Carabias-Orti, Julio José
From a clinical point of view, the detection of wheezing presence in respiratory sounds is a challenging task for early identification of pulmonary diseases since wheezing is the main manifestation associated to airway obstruction. In this article, we propose a novel method to detect the presence or absence of wheeze sounds in breath recordings in order to increase the reliability of the subjective diagnosis provided by the physician in the auscultation process. Specifically, it is assumed an unhealthy subject when wheeze sounds can be detected during breathing. The proposed method consists of three stages. The first stage attempts to estimate the spectral interval, band of interest (BOI), that shows the highest probability to find wheeze sounds. In the second stage, a constrained tonal semi-supervised non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) approach is applied to obtain spectral patterns that models the periodic or tonal nature typically shown by wheeze sounds. The third stage analyzes the estimated wheezing spectrogram based on the smoothness of the spectral trajectories from the most significant energy previously factorized in the BOI. Our system has been evaluated and compared to other state-of-the-art methods, yielding competitive results in the wheezing presence detection in respiratory sounds.
Towards long term acceptance of Socially Assistive Robots in retirement houses: use case definition
(IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2020-04-15) Iglesias, Ana; Viciana-Abad, Raquel; Pérez-Lorenzo, José Manuel; Ting, Karine Lan Hing; Tudela, Alberto; Marfil, Rebeca; Dueñas, Álvaro; Bandera, Juan Pedro
The deployment of new assistive technologies, in general, and Socially Assistive Robots (SAR) and Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) ecosystems, in particular, faces many issues regarding long term adherence, acceptability and utility. Most of these issues are due to design processes that do not take into account the needs, preferences and values of intended users. This paper presents the first steps of two regional projects involving long term evaluation of these technologies in the context of a retirement house. These projects follow a human-centred and participatory design approach to overcome usage barriers. To date, there are no research contributions in which a socially assistive robot, designed for and with users, has been tested in field trials for long term, in a real scenario. This paper describes the proposed methodology, the process already started to analyse practices and user’s needs, and the implementation of the first use case to be deployed for the Socially Assistive Robot in the retirement house.
A Distributed Clustering Algorithm Guided by the Base Station to Extend the Lifetime ofWireless Sensor Networks
(MDPI, 2020-04-18) Yuste-Delgado, Antonio-Jesús; Cuevas-Martínez, Juan-Carlos; Triviño-Cabrera, Alicia
Clustering algorithms are necessary in Wireless Sensor Networks to reduce the energy consumption of the overall nodes. The decision of which nodes are the cluster heads (CHs) greatly affects the network performance. The centralized clustering algorithms rely on a sink or Base Station (BS) to select the CHs. To do so, the BS requires extensive data from the nodes, which sometimes need complex hardware inside each node or a significant number of control messages. Alternatively, the nodes in distributed clustering algorithms decide about which the CHs are by exchanging information among themselves. Both centralized and distributed clustering algorithms usually alternate the nodes playing the role of the CHs to dynamically balance the energy consumption among all the nodes in the network. This paper presents a distributed approach to form the clusters dynamically, but it is occasionally supported by the Base Station. In particular, the Base Station sends three messages during the network lifetime to reconfigure the skip value of the network. The skip, which stands out as the number of rounds in which the same CHs are kept, is adapted to the network status in this way. At the beginning of each group of rounds, the nodes decide about their convenience to become a CH according to a fuzzy-logic system. As a novelty, the fuzzy controller is as a Tagaki–Sugeno–Kang model and not a Mandami-one as other previous proposals. The clustering algorithm has been tested in a wide set of scenarios, and it has been compared with other representative centralized and distributed fuzzy-logic based algorithms. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed clustering method is able to extend the network operability.
Combining a recursive approach via non-negative matrix factorization and Gini index sparsity to improve reliable detection of wheezing sounds
(Elsevier, 2020-06-01) De La Torre Cruz, Juan; Cañadas Quesada, Francisco Jesús; Carabias Orti, Julio José; Vera Candeas, Pedro; Ruiz Reyes, Nicolás
Auscultation constitutes a fast, non-invasive and low-cost tool widely used to diagnose respiratory diseases in most of the health centres. However, the acoustic training and expertise acquired by the physician is still crucial to provide a reliable diagnosis of the status of the lung. Each wrong diagnosis increases the risk to the health of patients and the costs associated with the treatment of the disease detected. A wheezing detection system can be useful to the physician to minimize the subjectivity of the interpretation of the breathing sounds, misdiagnoses due to stress and elucidating complex acoustic scenes (such as louder background noises). Highlight that the presence of wheeze sounds is one of the main indicators of respiratory disorders from airway obstructions. This work presents an expert and intelligent system to detect wheeze sounds based on a recursive algorithm that combines orthogonal non-negative matrix factorization (ONMF) and the sparsity descriptor Gini index. The recursive algorithm is composed of four stages. The first stage is based on ONMF modelling to factorize the spectral bases as dissimilar as possible. The second stage clusters the ONMF bases into two categories: wheezing and normal breath. The third stage proposes a novel stopping criterion that controls the loss of wheezing spectral content at the expense of removing normal breath content in the recursive algorithm. Finally, the fourth stage determines the patient’s condition to locate the temporal intervals in which wheeze sounds are active for unhealthy patients. Experimental results report that the proposed method: (i) provides the best detection performance compared to the recent state-of-the-art wheezing detection approaches, achieving the highest robustness in noisy environments; and (ii) reliably distinguishes the patient’s condition (healthy/unhealthy). The strengths of the proposed method are the following: (i) its unsupervised nature since it does not depend on any training stage to learn in advanced the sounds of interest (wheezing). This fact could make this method attractive to be used in clinical settings because wheezing sound databases are often unavailable; and (ii) the modelling of the spectral behaviour by means of a common feature, the sparsity, that represents the typically energy distributions shown by most of the wheeze and normal breath sounds.
Evaluation of a Multi-speaker System for Socially Assistive HRI in Real Scenarios
(Springer, 2020-11-03) Martínez-Colón, Antonio; Viciana-Abad, Raquel; Pérez-Lorenzo, José Manuel; Evers, Christine; Naylor, Patrick A.
In the field of social human-robot interaction, and in particular for social assistive robotics, the capacity of recognizing the speaker’s discourse in very diverse conditions and where more than one interlocutor may be present, plays an essential role. The use of a mics. array that can be mounted in a robot supported by a voice enhancement module has been evaluated, with the goal of improving the performance of current automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems in multi-speaker conditions. An evaluation has been made of the improvement in terms of intelligibility scores that can be achieved in the operation of two off-the-shelf ASR solutions in situations that contemplate the typical scenarios where a robot with these characteristics can be found. The results have identified the conditions in which a low computational cost demand algorithm can be beneficial to improve intelligibility scores in real environments.
An audio enhancement system to improve intelligibility for social-awareness in HRI
(Springer, 2021-08-28) Martínez-Colón, Antonio; Viciana-Abad, Raquel; Pérez-Lorenzo, José Manuel; Evers, Christine; Naylor, Patrick A.
Improving the ability to interact through voice with a robot is still a challenge especially in real environments where multiple speakers coexist. This work has evaluated a proposal based on improving the intelligibility of the voice information that feeds an existing ASR service in the network and in conditions similar to those that could occur in a care centre for the elderly. The results indicate the feasibility and improvement of a proposal based on the use of an embedded microphone array and the use of a simple beamforming and masking technique. The system has been evaluated with 12 people and results obtained for time responsiveness indicate that the system would allow natural interaction with voice. It is shown to be necessary to incorporate a system to properly employ the masking algorithm, through the intelligent and stable estimation of the interfering signals. In addition, this approach allows to fix as sources of interest other speakers not located in the vicinity of the robot.

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