Automated evaluation of acoustic talker direction finder algorithms in the varechoic chamber

Acoustic talker direction finders have potential applications to camera pointing for teleconferencing and to microphone array beam steering for audio communication and voice processing systems. This paper describes a laboratory setup and computer interface that was developed for testing talker direction finder algorithms in the Bell Labs Varechoic chamber, a room with computer-controlled absorbing panels. The procedure exploits the full capability of the facility by automatically stepping through a sequence of room panel configurations, outputting a digital speech signal, running the processor, and collecting the data. The advantage of this technique is that it allows for testing under a multitude of different acoustic conditions in the same physical location, thereby enabling a general characterization of the algorithm under evaluation. As an example of the technique, we have implemented the Fischell–Coker talker direction finder algorithm using real-time C-code running on an SGI workstation, which is the same machine that is used to orchestrate the automatic testing procedure.