Smart Headphones Using Active Noise Cancellation - A Case Study for Project Based Learning

Project based learning (PBL) in Engineering is an alternate for traditional pedagogy in which the learner will gain knowledge and skills by developing a solution for an authentic problem in a specified duration. Since it can be framed as continuous engaging activity, the number of topics of the course syllabi gets delivered in the process. A case study approach for a course titled `Digital Signal Processing (DSP)' is presented, as an example for PBL. The problem statement chosen for the PBL implementation is to illustrate a novel concept of Smart Headphones using Active Noise Cancellation and speech recognition. The PBL project is designed to address the contemporary issue of speech recognition in multimedia headphone to make it smart at a low cost. The prototype design based on principles of Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) is achieved using a processor, TMS320C5416. The sub tasks of this project are correlated to different topics of the course of DSP syllabus. The sub task implementation, evaluation and mapping help to attain the outcomes of the course by means of PBL. The hands on experiments carried out with the DSP processor in implementing the proposed project in stages provide the better and ease of understanding of the course. An evaluation of stage wise implementation as compared to the corresponding evaluation modules of traditional DSP course delivery has been presented.