Method and apparatus for accurate endpointing of speech in the presence of noise

摘要

An apparatus for accurate endpointing of speech in the presence of noise includes a processor and a software module. The processor executes the instructions of the software module to compare an utterance with a first signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) threshold value to determine a first starting point and a first ending point of the utterance. The processor then compares with a second SNR threshold value a part of the utterance that predates the first starting point to determine a second starting point of the utterance. The processor also then compares with the second SNR threshold value a part of the utterance that postdates the first ending point to determine a second ending point of the utterance. The first and second SNR threshold values are recalculated periodically to reflect changing SNR conditions. The first SNR threshold value advantageously exceeds the second SNR threshold value.