Abstract
In this paper, we propose a multichannel active noise control (ANC) system with an optimal reference microphone selector based on the time difference of arrival (TDOA). A multichannel feedforward ANC system using upstream reference signals can reduce various noises such as broadband noise by arranging reference microphones close to noise sources. However, the noise reduction performance of an ANC system degrades when the noise environment changes, such as the arrival direction. This is because some reference microphones do not satisfy the causality constraint that the unwanted noise propagates to the control point faster than the anti-noise used to cancel the unwanted noise. To solve this problem, we propose a multichannel ANC system with an optimal reference microphone selector. This selector chooses the reference microphones that satisfy the causality constraint based on the TDOA. Some experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system can choose the optimal reference microphones and effectively reduce unwanted acoustic noise.
Highlights
Acoustic noise has become a serious problem with the increased use of industrial equipment, such as engines, manufacturing plants, air conditioners, and so forth
A principle of the active noise control (ANC) system is based on the superposition between the unwanted noise and the anti-noise, which is generated by the noise controller
We focus on a situation in which the workers sit in front of a production line and the ANC system reduces the unwanted noise around the workers’ ears
Summary
Acoustic noise has become a serious problem with the increased use of industrial equipment, such as engines, manufacturing plants, air conditioners, and so forth. Feedforward ANC can reduce unwanted acoustic noise such as broadband noise by placing the reference microphone close to the noise source [4]. If the causality constraint is violated, the noise reduction performance of the feedforward ANC system deteriorates. This problem occurs when some reference microphones are not sufficiently close to the noise source. The noise reduction performance deteriorates if the arrival direction of the unwanted noise changes owing to the movement of the noise source. To solve this problem, we propose a multichannel ANC system with an optimal reference microphone selector [32].
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