What Is an Array Microphone?

Microphone Array, literally, refers to the arrangement of microphones. That is to say, a system composed of a certain number of acoustic sensors (usually microphones) for sampling and processing the spatial characteristics of the sound field.

Microphone array

In the frequency response, the direction of the sound source of the received voice signal and its changes can also be analyzed according to the application of the beamforming in the time domain similar to the spatial filter. And these analyses can display the intensity and angle of the speech signal in the form of beams from the polar chart.

Usually used in mobile phones (such as Apple iPhone, Samsung Galaxy series, etc.) and computers (such as Lenovo small Y series, etc.). With this technology, the difference between the phases of the sound waves received by the two microphones can be used to filter the sound waves, and the ambient background sound can be removed to the maximum, leaving only the required sound waves. For devices using this configuration in a noisy environment, it can make the listener sound clear and no noise.

Microphone array is different from antenna array

1. The voice signal is a broadband signal. ^[1]

   1. Noise suppression.

   2. Echo suppression.

   3. Go to reverb.

   4. Single or multiple sound source localization.

   5. Estimated number of sound sources.

   6. Source separation.

   7. Cocktail party effect.