A nonlinear active noise control algorithm for virtual microphones controlling chaotic noise.

In active noise control (ANC) systems, virtual microphones provide a means of projecting the zone of quiet away from the physical microphone to a remote location. To date, linear ANC algorithms, such as the filtered-x least mean square (FXLMS) algorithm, have been used with virtual sensing techniques. In this paper, a nonlinear ANC algorithm is developed for a virtual microphone by integrating the remote microphone technique with the filtered-s least mean square (FSLMS) algorithm. The proposed algorithm is evaluated experimentally in the cancellation of chaotic noise in a one-dimensional duct. The secondary paths evaluated experimentally exhibit non-minimum phase response and hence poor performance is obtained with the conventional FXLMS algorithm compared to the proposed FSLMS based algorithm. This is because the latter is capable of predicting the chaotic signal found in many physical processes responsible for noise. In addition, the proposed algorithm is shown to outperform the FXLMS based remote microphone technique under the causality constraint (when the propagation delay of the secondary path is greater than the primary path). A number of experimental results are presented in this paper to compare the performance of the FSLMS algorithm based virtual ANC algorithm with the FXLMS based virtual ANC algorithm.

A comparison of filter design structures for multi-channel acoustic communication systems.

The application of inverse filter designs as a means of providing improved communication performance in acoustic environments is investigated. Tikhonov regularized inverse filters of channel transfer functions calculated in the frequency domain are used as a means of obtaining multi-channel filters. Three classifications of inverse filter structures have been considered using time-domain simulations. The performance of Tikhonov regularized inverse filters designed according to each of these classifications is compared with each other and against a filter design developed by Stojanovic [Stojanovic, M. (2005). "Retrofocusing techniques for high rate acoustic communications," J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 117, 1173-1185]. It is shown that the filter design developed by Stojanovic requires less regularization and outperforms the Tikhonov regularized inverse filter designs when communicating over a single channel. While the filter developed by Stojanovic is designed to use multiple transmitters to transmit to a single receiver, the filter was implemented in a multi-channel system and proposed to have a focusing similar to that obtained using time-reversal. It was found that for the scenario used in the simulation, the Tikhonov regularized inverse design for full multi-channel inversion achieved better focusing than the design by Stojanovic, where simulation results show 20 dB less cross-talk at the expense of around 2 dB loss in signal strength.

A moving zone of quiet for narrowband noise in a one-dimensional duct using virtual sensing.

A frequent problem in active noise control is that the zone of quiet created at the error sensor tends to be very small. This means that the error sensor generally needs to be located close to an observer's ear, which might not always be a convenient or feasible solution. Virtual sensing is a method that can move the zone of quiet away from the error sensor to a desired location that is spatially fixed. This method has been investigated previously, and has shown potential to improve the performance of an active noise control system. However, it is very likely that the desired location of the zone of quiet is not spatially fixed. An active noise control system incorporating a virtual sensing method thus has to be able to create a moving zone of quiet that tracks the observer's ears. This paper presents a method for creating a moving zone of quiet based on the LMS virtual microphone technique. To illustrate the proposed method, it is implemented in an acoustic duct and narrowband control results are presented. These results show that a moving zone of quiet was effectively created inside the duct for narrowband noise.

Transducer sensitivity compensation using diagonal preconditioning for time reversal and Tikhonov inverse filtering in acoustic systems.

Filters are commonly used in sound reproduction and communication systems as a means of compensating for the response of the electro-acoustic plant. Two commonly used filter designs in the field of acoustics are the time reversal filter and the Tikhonov inverse filter. In this paper the influence of transducer sensitivities on the performance of these filters is examined. It is shown that the sensitivity of the transducers can negatively affect the performance of the resulting filter. To compensate for the decrease in performance, diagonal preconditioning can be implemented in the system. It is shown that by using diagonal matrices, which minimize the condition number of the system, the loss in performance arising from unbalanced sensitivities is minimized. This paper proposes an algorithm to find such a set of diagonal matrices and results are presented showing the improvements in performance arising from the modified filter design.

Frequency domain expressions for the estimation of time-averaged acoustic energy density.

This paper builds on earlier work by the same authors to derive expressions for the time-averaged acoustic energy density in the frequency domain using the auto- and cross-spectral densities of multiple microphone elements. Expressions for the most common three-dimensional geometric arrangements are derived. Simplified expressions for use with two channel spectrum analysers are also presented.