Happy New Year.
2020 finally ended and 2021 has just begun - and we are still far from normal. Our work from home continues and it is still not sure how long it will extend. I can't provide the concrete availability of a COVID-19 vaccine, but certainly can help you avoid some of your annoying WFH moments.
Whether you are attending a meeting with prospective/existing customers or attending an internal regular team meeting/1-to-1 meeting with your manager/colleagues – have you ever experienced unwanted background noise? Sometimes, you feel embarrassed of your pet dog barking; or sometimes, you are annoyed after hearing the loud noise of the person typing on the keyboard from the other end. Tell me who is not interested to nullify the background noise during on-line meetings? The background noise problem is not only unwanted but also not good for productivity and well-being as it can cause misunderstandings, distractions, extra stress, etc.
You must follow a few steps only - which will help you get rid of the unnecessary background noise other than the required speech:
Note: This setting is currently available only in the Microsoft Teams Windows desktop app.
Microsoft is working on the same feature for Teams Mobile app and desktop app for Mac.
Documentation: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/reduce-background-noise-in-teams-meetings-1a9c6819-137d-4b3b-a1c8-4ab20b234c0d
Still you are not happy? Then you can leverage other solution – which are mostly Software/App depending upon your operating system.
Krisp - Noise Cancelling App : Demo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMGyRqOu2kw
Nvidia RTX Voice/Broadcast : Demo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-mETIjcIV0&feature=emb_logo
Courtsey : krisp.ai
Most of the above applications use Deep Learning in the background to eliminate unwanted noise.
How Deep Learning can help in Noise Suppression
Noise suppression happens on the edge device, e.g. your microphone (can be called outbound noise). So, in this case, after getting the signal from mic, suppress the noise, and send the signal upstream - is the traditional way out.
Again, even your speaker can create background noise also – which is created by other participants of the meeting (can be called inbound noise).
Real-time background noise suppression is a boon for businesses and households full of distracting noises. AI will remove the background noise in real time so you can hear only speech on the call. But how exactly does it work? But before that, one should know little background:
Stationary and non-stationary are characteristics of the process which has generated the signal. A signal can be considered as an observation.
Do you know what is White Noise?
You don’t like background noise, but some people really like constant noise. Don’t you believe but it’s true. This is known as White Noise. For white noise, its wave pattern is not repetitive and consists of equal intensities of all frequencies of the audible spectrum. White noise is so named because it's analogous to white light, which is a mixture of all visible wavelengths of light.
Many people enjoy falling asleep to the soothing hum of white noise (whirring fan, humming air conditioner) - which consists of low, medium, and high frequency sounds played together at the same intensity level. White noise effectively masks other sounds, making it helpful for people who live in loud neighborhoods.
Interested to know about Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)?
For that, very short quick guide here : https://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/story/active-noise-cancellation
How headphones/earphones handle noise isolation and cancellation?
But all ANC headphones are not the same – there are of 3 types of implementation : Feedforward, Feedback and Hybrid. Each implementation has its good and bad sides.
Still have a problem while Work From Home. Then you can consider a complete a different solution altogether. Here it is – expandable Home Office Pods/Enclosures created for the new normal of work/school from home. It is simply innovative.
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