• About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Cookie policy (EU)
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Video
  • Write for us
Today Headline
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • POLITICS
    • News for today
    • Borisov news
  • FINANCE
    • Business
    • Insurance
  • Video
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • ENTERPRISE
  • LIFESTYLE
    • TRAVEL
    • HEALTH
    • ENTERTAINMENT
  • AUTOMOTIVE
  • SPORTS
  • Travel and Tourism
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • POLITICS
    • News for today
    • Borisov news
  • FINANCE
    • Business
    • Insurance
  • Video
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • ENTERPRISE
  • LIFESTYLE
    • TRAVEL
    • HEALTH
    • ENTERTAINMENT
  • AUTOMOTIVE
  • SPORTS
  • Travel and Tourism
No Result
View All Result
TodayHeadline
No Result
View All Result

Mimicking the brain to realize ‘human-like’ virtual assistants

February 3, 2022
in Technology
0
Mimicking the brain to realize ‘human-like’ virtual assistants
0
SHARES
4
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


Mimicking the brain to realize “human-like” virtual assistants
Figure 1. A representation of the algorithm used to mimic human speech.  Caption: Processing pipeline of perceptual matching pursuit algorithm used to derive auditory sparse representations from speech signals. The five main processing steps are illustrated by gray blocks and solid arrows. The first step is to decompose signal, second is to apply mask effect, third is to find max, fourth is to update, and last is to halt. Information about selected kernel found after find-max step is used to create auditory sparse representation, resynthesized signal, and residual signal. Credit: Masashi Unoki from JAIST

Speech is more than just a form of communication. A person’s voice conveys emotions and personality and is a unique trait we can recognize. Our use of speech as a primary means of communication is a key reason for the development of voice assistants in smart devices and technology. Typically, virtual assistants analyze speech and respond to queries by converting the received speech signals into a model they can understand and process to generate a valid response. However, they often have difficulty capturing and incorporating the complexities of human speech and end up sounding very unnatural.

Now, in a study published in the journal IEEE Access, Professor Masashi Unoki from Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), and Dung Kim Tran, a doctoral course student at JAIST, have developed a system that can capture the information in speech signals similarly to how humans perceive speech.

“In humans, the auditory periphery converts the information contained in input speech signals into neural activity patterns (NAPs) that the brain can identify. To emulate this function, we used a matching pursuit algorithm to obtain sparse representations of speech signals, or signal representations with the minimum possible significant coefficients,” explains Prof. Unoki. “We then used psychoacoustic principles, such as the equivalent rectangular bandwidth scale, gammachirp function, and masking effects to ensure that the auditory sparse representations are similar to that of the NAPs.”

To test the effectiveness of their model in understanding voice commands and generating an understandable and natural response, the duo performed experiments to compare the signal reconstruction quality and the perceptual structures of the auditory representations against conventional methods. “The effectiveness of an auditory representation can be evaluated in terms of three aspects: the quality of the resynthesized speech signals, the number of non-zero elements, and the ability to represent perceptual structures of speech signals,” says Prof. Unoki.

To evaluate the quality of the resynthesized speech signals, the duo reconstructed 630 speech samples spoken by different speakers. The resynthesized signals were then rated using PEMO-Q and PESQ scores—objective measures for sound quality. They found the resynthesized signals to be comparable to the original signals. Additionally, they made auditory representations of certain phrases spoken by 6 speakers.

The duo also tested the model on its ability to capture voice structures accurately by using a pattern-matching experiment to determine if the auditory representations of the phrases could be matched to spoken utterances or queries made by the same speakers.

“Our results showed that the auditory sparse representations produced by our method can achieve high quality resynthesized signals with only 1,066 coefficients per second. Furthermore, the proposed method also provides the highest matching accuracy in a pattern matching experiment,” says Prof. Unoki.

From smartphones to smart televisions and even smart cars, the role of voice assistants is becoming more and more indispensable in our daily lives. The quality and the continued usage of these services will rely on their ability to understand our accents and our pronunciation and respond in a way we find natural. The model developed in this study could go a long way in imparting human-like qualities to our voice assistants, making our interactions not only more convenient but also psychologically satisfying.


Study explains role of bone-conducted speech transmission in speech production and hearing


More information:
Dung Kim Tran et al, Matching Pursuit and Sparse Coding for Auditory Representation, IEEE Access (2021). DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3135011

Provided by
Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

Citation:
Mimicking the brain to realize ‘human-like’ virtual assistants (2022, February 3)
retrieved 3 February 2022
from https://techxplore.com/news/2022-02-mimicking-brain-human-like-virtual.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Tags: assistantsBrainhumanlikemimickingrealizeVirtual
Previous Post

CDC chief acknowledges that Americans are ‘anxious’ to return to normal life

Next Post

Ecuador’s Amazon residents seething after new oil spill | Environment News

Related Posts

Researchers achieve world’s first international holographic teleportation
Technology

Researchers achieve world’s first international holographic teleportation

Credit: University of Western Ontario...

Read more
Open-source and open hardware autonomous quadrotor flies fast and avoids obstacles
Technology

Open-source and open hardware autonomous quadrotor flies fast and avoids obstacles

Credit: Robotics and Perception Group...

Read more
How image features influence reaction times
Technology

How image features influence reaction times

Research exploring how quickly people react...

Read more
A bartending robot that can engage in personalized interactions with humans
Technology

A bartending robot that can engage in personalized interactions with humans

The robot created by the...

Read more
Opportunities for eliminating equity gaps in computer science gateway courses
Technology

Opportunities for eliminating equity gaps in computer science gateway courses

Carmen Robinson (left) and Narges Norouzi,...

Read more
Load More
Next Post
Ecuador’s Amazon residents seething after new oil spill | Environment News

Ecuador’s Amazon residents seething after new oil spill | Environment News

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Epic Systems campus, a fantasyland of gardens and architecture, Part 1

Epic Systems campus, a fantasyland of gardens and architecture, Part 1

Six times actors really romped in sex scenes that make 365 DNI look tame

Six times actors really romped in sex scenes that make 365 DNI look tame

Do Sex Dolls Feel Real? – Answering Important Questions 

Strictly: Ofcom assessing Steve Allen’s Tilly Ramsay comments

Strictly: Ofcom assessing Steve Allen’s Tilly Ramsay comments

Peach Coffee Cake – Barefeet in the Kitchen

Peach Coffee Cake – Barefeet in the Kitchen

Top SEO Trends To Take Advantage of in 2022

The History of Mugshots

Best Practices for Managing Master Data

About Us

Todayheadline the independent news and topics discovery
A home-grown and independent news and topic aggregation . displays breaking news linking to news websites all around the world.

Follow Us

Latest News

Peach Coffee Cake – Barefeet in the Kitchen

Peach Coffee Cake – Barefeet in the Kitchen

Top SEO Trends To Take Advantage of in 2022

Peach Coffee Cake – Barefeet in the Kitchen

Peach Coffee Cake – Barefeet in the Kitchen

Top SEO Trends To Take Advantage of in 2022

The History of Mugshots

  • Real Estate
  • Education
  • Parenting
  • Cooking
  • NFL Games On TV Today
  • Travel and Tourism
  • Home & Garden
  • Pets
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
  • About

© 2021 All rights are reserved Todayheadline

No Result
View All Result
  • Real Estate
  • Education
  • Parenting
  • Cooking
  • NFL Games On TV Today
  • Travel and Tourism
  • Home & Garden
  • Pets
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
  • About

© 2021 All rights are reserved Todayheadline

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist