In Car Speech Detection with mmWave Radars

Speech recognition can be challenging in harsh environments, for instance, a vehicle cabin. Generally, automotive solutions leverage microphones to perform this task. Performance attainable with the audio method is known and the technology is consolidated. Particular situations can require alternative methods and radar sensing can be an alternative option. Through vibration measurements of the throat, a radar sensor can perceive a user's speech and improve human-machine interaction where only microphone methods can become frail. In this work, a radar sensor is employed to recognise a specific set of letters pronounced by a user. Experimental tests demonstrate the possibility of exploiting radar sensing for in car speech recognition.