Digital MEMS Beamforming Microphone Array for Small-scale Video Conferencing

Abstract

Due to emerging technologies, physical activities such as training, seminars, and conferences have shifted to a new model of interaction—online discussions. This paper includes developing a digital MEMS beamforming microphone array using four microphones. The Direction-of-Arrival Algorithm was used and tested using a Python program. The testing setup places one user at different angles in the room, having a 1m distance from the microphone to the speaker. The data presented that the microphone array was 99.62% accurate, with a 0.3766667% error. The software Audacity was used to represent the six channels for source separation. In a small-scale video conferencing setup, Skype was used, and a checklist was provided. In conclusion, the microphone array that uses four digital MEMS, XMOS XVF-3000 voice processors, and WM8960 audio decoding module was proven to be beamforming and suitable for small-scale video conferencing with three users and one host.