Signal processing methods for removing the effects of whole-body vibration upon speech

Humans may be exposed to whole-body vibration in environments where clear speech communications are crucial, particularly during the launch phase of space flight and in high-performance aircraft. Prior research has shown that high levels of vibration cause a decrease in speech intelligibility. However, the effects of whole-body vibration upon speech are not well understood, and no attempt has been made to restore speech distorted by whole-body vibration. In this paper, a model for speech during whole-body vibration is proposed and a method to remove its effect is described. The method presented reduces the perceptual effects of vibration, yields higher automatic speech recognition accuracy scores, and may significantly improve intelligibility. Possible applications include incorporation within spaceflight, aviation, or off-road vehicle radio-communication systems.