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2024 International Conference on Information Technologies

Robust audio zoom for surveillance systems: A beamforming approach with reduced microphone array

Stephen Stroud
Karl O. Jones
Gerard Edwards
Colin Robinson
David Ellis
Sebastian Chandler-Crnigoj
School of Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology
Liverpool John Moores University
United Kingdom
Abstract:
This paper presents a delay and sum beamforming audio zoom method for addressing broken microphones in video surveillance systems. The proposed approach utilises a reduced array of 13 omnidirectional microphones and applies delay and sum beamforming to enhance audio signals from a user-defined grid area. The system enables audio zooming, focusing on specific directions, and is valuable for video surveillance applications. The MATLAB-based script includes a polar plot to visualise the beamforming direction and compares the response of the 13-microphone array with the full 16-microphone array after beamforming. Experimental results demonstrate the system's effectiveness in overcoming microphone failures in surveillance scenarios.
Key words:
Audio Zooming
Beamforming
Forensic Evidence Gathering
Microphones