An objective metric that predicts speech intelligibility under different types of noise and distortion would be desirable in voice communication. To date, the majority of studies concerning speech intelligibility metrics have focused on predicting the effects of individual noise or distortion mechanisms. This study proposes an objective metric, the spectrogram orthogonal polynomial measure (SOPM), that attempts to predict speech intelligibility for people with normal hearing under adverse conditions. The SOPM metric is developed by extracting features from the spectrogram using Krawtchouk moments. The metric's performance is evaluated for several types of noise (steady-state and fluctuating noise), distortions (peak clipping, center clipping, and phase jitters), ideal time-frequency segregation, and reverberation conditions both in quiet and noisy environments. High correlation (0.97–0.996) is achieved with the proposed metric when evaluated with subjective scores by normal-hearing subjects under various conditions.
References
1.
Akter
, K.
, and Mamun
, N.
(2019
). “Predicting speech intelligibility with the regeneration of envelope from TFS cues for hearing impaired listeners
,” in Proceedings of the 2019 International Conference on Electrical, Computer and Communication Engineering (ECCE)
, February 7–9, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.2.
Anderson
, B. W.
, and Kalb
, J. T.
(1987
). “English verification of the STI method for estimating speech intelligibility of a communications channel
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
81
, 1982
–1985
.3.
ANSI
(1997
). ANSI S3.5-1997, Methods for the Calculation of the Speech Intelligibility Index
(American National Standards Institute
, New York
).4.
5.
Brungart
, D. S.
, Chang
, P. S.
, Simpson
, B. D.
, and Wang
, D.
(2006
). “Isolating the energetic component of speech-on-speech masking with ideal time-frequency segregation
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
120
, 4007
–4018
.6.
Cui
, X.
, and Alwan
, A.
(2005
). “Noise robust speech recognition using feature compensation based on polynomial regression of utterance SNR
,” Speech Audio Process., IEEE Trans.
13
, 1161
–1172
.7.
Donohue
, K.
(2009
). “Audio systems array processing toolbox (computer program)
,” Audio Systems Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Kentucky, http://web.engr.uky.edu/∼donohue/audio/Arrays/MAToolbox.htm (Last viewed January 2021).8.
Elhilali
, M.
, Chi
, T.
, and Shamma
, S. A.
(2003
). “A spectro-temporal modulation index (STMI) for assessment of speech intelligibility
,” Speech Commun.
41
, 331
–348
.9.
Falk
, T. H.
, Zheng
, C.
, and Chan
, W.-Y.
(2010
). “A non-intrusive quality and intelligibility measure of reverberant and dereverberated speech
,” Audio Speech Lang. Process. IEEE Trans.
18
, 1766
–1774
.10.
French
, N.
, and Steinberg
, J.
(1947
). “Factors governing the intelligibility of speech sounds
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
19
, 90
–119
.11.
Goldsworthy
, R. L.
, and Greenberg
, J. E.
(2004
). “Analysis of speech-based speech transmission index methods with implications for nonlinear operations
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
116
, 3679
–3689
.12.
Hines
, A.
, and Harte
, N.
(2012
). “Speech intelligibility prediction using a neurogram similarity index measure
,” Speech Commun.
54
, 306
–320
.13.
Houtgast
, T.
, and Steeneken
, H. J.
(1985
). “A review of the MTF concept in room acoustics and its use for estimating speech intelligibility in auditoria
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
77
, 1069
–1077
.14.
Jørgensen
, S.
, and Dau
, T.
(2013
). “Modelling speech intelligibility in adverse conditions
,” in Basic Aspects of Hearing
(Springer
, New York
), pp. 343
-351
.15.
Kates
, J. M.
, and Arehart
, K. H.
(2005
). “Coherence and the speech intelligibility index
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
117
, 2224
–2237
.16.
Kates
, J. M.
, and Arehart
, K. H.
(2014
). “The hearing-aid speech perception index (HASPI)
,” Speech Commun.
65
, 75
–93
.17.
Khotanzad
, A.
, and Hong
, Y. H.
(1990
). “Invariant image recognition by Zernike moments
,” IEEE Trans. Pattern Anal. Mach. Intell.
12
, 489
–497
.18.
Kjems
, U.
, Boldt
, J. B.
, Pedersen
, M. S.
, Lunner
, T.
, and Wang
, D.
(2009
). “Role of mask pattern in intelligibility of ideal binary-masked noisy speech
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
126
, 1415
–1426
.19.
Kryter
, K. D.
(1962
). “Methods for the calculation and use of the articulation index
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
34
, 1689
–1697
.20.
Lee
, E.
, and Messerschmitt
, D. G.
(1994
). Digital Communication
(Kluwer Academic
, Boston, MA
).21.
Liao
, S. X.
, and Pawlak
, M.
(1996
). “On image analysis by moments
,” IEEE Trans. Pattern Anal. Mach. Intell.
18
, 254
–266
.22.
Licklider
, J. C.
(1946
). “Effects of amplitude distortion upon the intelligibility of speech
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
18
, 429
–434
.23.
Ludvigsen
, C.
, Elberling
, C.
, and Keidser
, G.
(1993
). “Evaluation of a noise reduction method: Comparison between observed scores and scores predicted from STI
,” Scand. Audiol.
22
, 50
–55
.24.
Ma
, J.
, and Loizou
, P. C.
(2011
). “SNR loss: A new objective measure for predicting the intelligibility of noise-suppressed speech
,” Speech Commun.
53
, 340
–354
.25.
Mamun
, N.
, Jassim
, W.
, and Zilany
, M. S.
(2015
). “Prediction of speech intelligibility using a neurogram orthogonal polynomial measure (NOPM)
,” IEEE/ACM Trans. Audio Speech Lang. Process.
23
, 760
–773
.26.
Nabelek
, A. K.
, and Letowski
, T. R.
(1985
). “Vowel confusions of hearing-impaired listeners under reverberant and nonreverberant conditions
,” J. Speech Hear. Disord.
50
, 126
–131
.27.
Nilsson
, M.
, Soli
, S. D.
, and Sullivan
, J. A.
(1994
). “Development of the Hearing in Noise Test for the measurement of speech reception thresholds in quiet and in noise
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
95
, 1085
–1099
.28.
Recio
, A.
, Rich
, N. C.
, Narayan
, S. S.
, and Ruggero
, M. A.
(1998
). “Basilar-membrane responses to clicks at the base of the chinchilla cochlea
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
103
, 1972
–1989
.29.
Recio-Spinoso
, A.
, Narayan
, S. S.
, and Ruggero
, M. A.
(2009
). “Basilar membrane responses to noise at a basal site of the chinchilla cochlea: Quasi-linear filtering
,” J. Assoc. Res. Otolaryngol.
10
, 471
–484
.30.
Rhebergen
, K. S.
, and Versfeld
, N. J.
(2005
). “A speech intelligibility index-based approach to predict the speech reception threshold for sentences in fluctuating noise for normal-hearing listeners
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
117
, 2181
–2192
.31.
Rhebergen
, K. S.
, Versfeld
, N. J.
, and Dreschler
, W. A.
(2006
). “Extended speech intelligibility index for the prediction of the speech reception threshold in fluctuating noise
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
120
, 3988
–3997
.32.
Rothauser
, E.
(1969
). “IEEE recommended practice for speech quality measurements
,” IEEE Trans. Audio Electroacoust.
17
, 225
–246
.33.
Steeneken
, H. J. M.
, and Houtgast
, T.
(1980
). “A physical method for measuring speech‐transmission quality
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
67
, 318
–326
.34.
Steeneken
, H. J. M.
, and Houtgast
, T.
(1982
). “Some applications of the speech transmission index (STI) in auditoria
,” Acta Acust. united Acust.
51
, 229
–234
.35.
Studebaker
, G. A.
, Sherbecoe
, R. L.
, and Gilmore
, C.
(1993
). “Frequency-importance and transfer functions for the Auditec of St. Louis recordings of the NU-6 word test
,” J. Speech Lang. Hear. Res.
36
, 799
–807
.36.
Studebaker
, G. A.
, Sherbecoe
, R. L.
, McDaniel
, D. M.
, and Gwaltney
, C. A.
(1999
). “Monosyllabic word recognition at higher-than-normal speech and noise levels
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
105
, 2431
–2444
.37.
Taal
, C. H.
, Hendriks
, R. C.
, Heusdens
, R.
, and Jensen
, J.
(2011
). “An algorithm for intelligibility prediction of time–frequency weighted noisy speech
,” IEEE Trans. Audio Speech Lang. Process.
19
, 2125
–2136
.38.
Tyagi
, V.
, Bourlard
, H.
, and Wellekens
, C.
(2006
). “On variable-scale piecewise stationary spectral analysis of speech signals for ASR
,” Speech Commun.
48
, 1182
–1191
.39.
Van Kuyk
, S.
, Kleijn
, W. B.
, and Hendriks
, R. C.
(2018
). “An evaluation of intrusive instrumental intelligibility metrics
,” IEEE/ACM Trans. Audio Speech Lang. Process.
26
, 2153
–2166
.40.
Wallin
, Å.
, and Kubler
, O.
(1995
). “Complete sets of complex Zernike moment invariants and the role of the pseudoinvariants
,” IEEE Trans. Pattern Anal. Mach. Intell.
17
, 1106
–1110
.41.
Yacullo
, W. S.
, and Hawkins
, D. B.
(1987
). “Speech recognition in noise and reverberation by school-age children
,” Audiology
26
, 235
–246
.42.
Yap
, P.-T.
, Paramesran
, R.
, and Ong
, S.-H.
(2003
). “Image analysis by Krawtchouk moments
,” IEEE Trans. Image Process.
12
, 1367
–1377
.43.
Yap
, P.
, and Raveendran
, P.
(2004
). “Image focus measure based on Chebyshev moments
,” IEE Proc. Vision Image Signal Process.
151
, 128
–136
.44.
Zhu
, H.
(2012
). “Image representation using separable two-dimensional continuous and discrete orthogonal moments
,” Pattern Recognit.
45
, 1540
–1558
.© 2021 Acoustical Society of America.
2021
Acoustical Society of America
You do not currently have access to this content.