A bio-inspired architecture for cognitive audio

Abstract

A comprehensive view of speech and voice technologies is now demanding better and more complex tools amenable of extracting as much knowledge about sound and speech as possible. Many knowledgeextraction tasks from speech and voice share well-known procedures at the algorithmic level under the point of view of bio-inspiration. The same resources employed to decode speech phones may be used in the characterization of the speaker (gender, age, speaking group, etc.). Based on these facts the present paper examines a hierarchy of sound processing levels at the auditory and perceptual levels on the brain neural paths which can be translated into a bio-inspired audio-processing architecture. Through this paper its fundamental characteristics are analyzed in relation with current tendencies in cognitive audio processing. Examples extracted from speech processing applications in the domain of acousticphonetics are presented. These may find applicability in speaker's characterization, forensics, and biometry, among others. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.