Google Meet Rolls Out Impressive New Background Noise Cancellation Feature (venturebeat.com) 32
Google is rolling out AI-powered noise cancellation in Google Meet. It's coming to the web first, with iOS and Android following later. The Verge reports: A video produced by VentureBeat shows the software in action, with G Suite's director of product management Serge Lachapelle demonstrating how it can pretty seamlessly remove the sound of crackling crisp packets, clicking pens, or glass clinking. Google's announcement said the tech will also work on dogs barking or the clicking of a keyboard. VentureBeat reports that Google has been working on the feature for around a year and a half, using thousands of its own meetings to train its AI model. YouTube clips of lots of people talking were also used by the team. However, Lachapelle was keen to emphasize that although the feature will improve over time, the company will not directly use external meetings to train it. Instead, it will use customer support channels to try to identify where the software might be going wrong. Google says the processing happens via the cloud and that the data is encrypted during transport. It's also enabled by default, but can be turned off from the audio menu in the settings.
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do you post this on every slashdot story?
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Yes, they do, and you've helped make it visible by replying. Well done.
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Nobody even reads slashdot anymore. What are you trying to accomplish? Like, I don't even disagree with you, but I can't do anything to help and neither can the ten other people that still read this site.
I'd be so much more impressed ... (Score:3)
I'd be so much more impressed if it was an open app that ran locally, rather than something that encrypts the audio and sends it to Google for processing on their cloud - and NOT for any other use, we promise!!!
If more crunch and/or storage is needed I'm sure the home computer / cellphone / tablet makers would LOVE to sell a new generation of more capable machines.
Re:I'd be so much more impressed ... (Score:4, Informative)
Then use RTX Voice. Looks like Nvidia already has this available
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/g... [nvidia.com]
Re: I'd be so much more impressed ... (Score:3)
Thanks for the link, interesting.
Note to others, Windows 10 only...
Re:I'd be so much more impressed ... (Score:5, Informative)
Seconding RTX Voice.
It sucks that it requires a RTX GPU to run right now (yes, it works on some GTX 10 series as well, but quality is worse).
RTX Voice doesn't muffle the voice like in this clip, and it removes quite a bit more noise from the audio. I'm still shocked by just how GOOD it is, and how easily it integrates into Windows. Also, RTX Voice isn't just for the local mic, it can also take the audio from others like on a Zoom meeting and filter it out. My company recently had a streaming cooking day, and HOLY SHIT was there so much noise from stove tops n shit, but RTX Voice just cut out all the hissing and annoying noises and left just clean vocal audio.
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I think the muffling in the video is because he moved away from the mic with it turned on. Towards the end of the video he has it on and is a bit closer to the mic and it sounds normal.
Probably some kind of background noise filter that kicks in because the volume of his voice is relatively low from a distance. AGC should fix that.
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Chasing that down I found a demo of noise-repellent. Linux, mac, windows. Open source. Plugs into stock use-linux-computer-as-audio-studio apps. Doesn't need a graphics card for its crunch and doesn't use a substantial amount of a modern CPU either. Video shows it being configured in real time to remove fan noise from a fan blowing at the microphone while not affecting the presenter's voice.
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I'd be so much more impressed if it was an open app that ran locally, rather than something that encrypts the audio and sends it to Google for processing on their cloud - and NOT for any other use, we promise!!!
But can you run it locally? NVIDIA have been doing similar experiments for streamers and competitive gamers. It runs well enough on RTX cards, but without dedicated hardware for AI processing it crippled gaming performance.
As much as I hate the idea of sending something to cloud as well, central based learning algorithms have done more for computer identification than any individual effort could ever hope to achieve. Captcha's getting millions of people to identify cars and crossworks work better than you s
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I expect it will go local eventually, just like Google's voice recognition/transcription did. With the release of the Pixel 4 they moved processing to be local for reduced latency, although I think it can fall back to the cloud if it is having difficulty.
It takes them a while to tune it and boil it down to a core that works well but doesn't need too much processing power.
Impressive? (Score:2)
Just my 2 cents
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Wait? Who would want [a naked human cancellation feature] ;)
How about the guy calling his wife to tell her he's working late - from his mistress' bedroom?
What about mouse clicks and lawn mowers? (Score:2)
Flogging a dead horse (Score:2)
What good does that do when they most likely bury Google Meet in the next few years anyway?
Not "cancellation" (Score:4, Insightful)
This is noise filtering, removing it from the signal. Nothing like the headphones they sell for use on aircraft etc.
It does not actively cancel out room noise in the local user's headphones, which would have been cool.
Nice tech, but a better understanding by headline writers would help.
Impressive, but... (Score:2)
...can it filter out the drone of a vuvuzela?
Doesn't Zoom already do this? (Score:3)
One of the things Zoom seems very good at is not passing through non-voice sounds much.
I've been on many calls where some loud noise startled the person on the other end, or they said "sorry about the lawnmowers outside" and I didn't hear anything.
Keyboard sounds also seems like I don't normally hear when people are typing, though I usually do mute if I'm typing while in a videoconference call.
It is a very useful feature to have.
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No it doesn't. It just uses a classical background noise filter, ones that are easily outperformed by the "AI" related research in this area. Lawnmowers outside? This kind of stuff will kill lawnmowers in your living room.
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
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I use it with a 1080ti and it's like freaking magic. Anyone with a 10 series Nvidia card should grab the executable to keep handy if
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Most importantly (Score:2)
Google Meat sounds like a pron site (Score:2)
That or they invented a synthetic meat substitute.