Combined approach of array processing and independent component analysis for blind separation of acoustic signals

Two array signal processing techniques are combined with independent component analysis (ICA) to enhance the performance of blind separation of acoustic signals in a reflective environment. The first technique is the subspace method which reduces the effect of room reflection when the system is used in a room. Room reflection is one of the biggest problems in blind source separation (BSS) in acoustic environments. The second technique is a method of solving permutation. For employing the subspace method, ICA must be used in the frequency domain, and precise permutation is necessary for all frequencies. In this method, a physical property of the mixing matrix, i.e., the coherency in adjacent frequencies, is utilized to solve the permutation. The experiments in a meeting room showed that the subspace method improved the rate of automatic speech recognition from 50% to 68% and that the method of solving permutation achieves performance that closely approaches that of the correct permutation, differing by only 4% in recognition rate.