A new technology in microphones may allow robots to be able to "hear" sounds at longer distances and even isolate speech or other relevant sounds from noise.

Researchers from Imperial College London came up with a technology that allows a zoom-in system in a number of microphones within one sphere, allowing them to pick up sounds from selected directions.

The zoom-in system is incorporated in 32 microphones put together around a sphere. It uses an algorithm to compare different sound stimuli, enabling the mic to identify what sound comes from which location. It can then fine-tune sounds that come from a specific location.

"Humans have evolved the skill to make sense of sounds even in noisy environments, but audio technology can't do this yet," stated the Royal Society. They then announced that they will be exhibiting research that aims to make machines hear in the same manner as humans do. Voice-activated and speech recognition technologies, and further robots, can become more reliable.

The researchers stress that the development of a zoom-in system in microphones could further contribute to developments in phone, health and medical technologies, to name a few. Voice-activation systems in phones can isolate a person's instructions amid a number of voices in the background. Hearing aids can be improved. In the future, robots in hospitals can easily detect sound coming from a patient's room, even when it is noisy or a bit farther away.

"Being able to pick out particular conversations or voices in a crowd is a real challenge for everyday devices like phones and hearing aids," said lead researcher Dr. Patrick Naylor. He adds that it is very important for human communication to selectively listen and focus on one person. AI cannot properly interact with humans unless it can listen to different parts of the soundscape and choose relevant sounds or conversations.

A demo at the Royal Society's Summer Science Exhibition will be able to showcase its functions and explain further how the researchers came up with this new technology.

Photo: Felipe Cabrera | Flickr