SONIC: Sound Optimization for Noise In Crowds

TL;DR

SONIC is a real-time, embedded noise suppression system on microcontrollers that enhances speech clarity in noisy environments using adaptive filtering, offering a low-power alternative to AI-based denoising.

Contribution

The paper introduces SONIC, a novel embedded noise suppression system utilizing adaptive filtering on microcontrollers, addressing limitations of traditional noise cancellation methods.

Findings

Improved speech intelligibility in noisy environments.

Achieved real-time performance with low power consumption.

Demonstrated effectiveness as an alternative to AI denoising methods.

Abstract

This paper presents SONIC, an embedded real-time noise suppression system implemented on the ARM Cortex-M7-based STM32H753ZI microcontroller. Using adaptive filtering (LMS), the system improves speech intelligibility in noisy environments. SONIC focuses on a novel approach to noise suppression in audio signals, specifically addressing the limitations of traditional Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) systems. The paper explores various signal processing algorithms in a micro-controller point of view, highlighting various performance factors and which were considered optimal in our embedded system. Additionally we also discussed the system architecture, explaining how the MCU's efficiency was harnessed, along with an in-depth overview of how the audio signals were translated within the processor. The results demonstrate improved speech clarity and practical real-time performance, showing low-power DSP as an alternative to complex AI denoising methods.