As autonomous vehicles become increasingly prevalent, the integration of reliable emergency vehicle detection is crucial for ensuring road safety. While most advancements in autonomous driving focus on vision technology, audio-based detection systems are equally important. Sensory’s siren detection technology provides a vital layer of awareness, enhancing the ability of autonomous vehicles to respond swiftly and appropriately to emergency situations. Sensory’s groundbreaking Automotive Siren Detection System, a sophisticated DSP (Digital Signal Processing) application and highly accurate revalidation process, is designed to revolutionize how vehicles respond to emergency situations to enhance safety for all road users.
High-Accuracy Siren Detection
Sensory’s technology is known for high efficiency and low power consumption. In that spirit, we designed an advanced Siren Detection System that achieves an impressive detection accuracy of over 99% in real life situations with a broad range of road noises. This high detection rate ensures that the system reliably identifies the presence of emergency vehicle siren signals, which is crucial for enabling timely and appropriate responses from drivers and autonomous vehicles alike.
Embedded Reliability for Real-Time Emergency Detection
Sensory’s Automotive Siren Detection System is fully embedded, requiring no cloud connectivity. This feature offers significant advantages, especially in situations where an internet connection may not be available. Additionally, this on-device or localized operation ensures that sirens are detected in real-time, ideal for maintaining safety in autonomous and modern vehicles.
Audio Capture and Microphone Configurations
Our emergency vehicle detection system is designed to capture audio using both in-cabin and external microphones. A single in-cabin microphone suffices for siren detection. For external audio, three or more microphones provide enhanced directional accuracy. Extensive studies have shown that our system remains robust against side noises, road noises, and car noises to ensure reliable performance in various car and road environments.
Efficient Noise Filtering & Computational Efficiency
The first stage of this emergency vehicle detection system is a DSP siren trigger. It is calibrated to detect siren signals with exceptional precision. The DSP effectively filters out more than 99.5% of non-siren audio, including typical automotive noises. This high filtering efficiency ensures that only pertinent audio signals are sent to the second-stage revalidation process which runs at the application level, dramatically reducing computational load. By running an ultra low power recognizer that’s always on we save the heavy lifting sound recognition to be used only a small fraction of the time, thus minimizing battery impact and heat dissipation. The DSP solution for siren detection is remarkably efficient, consuming as little as 5 MIPS when running continuously. This low resource requirement ensures minimal impact on the vehicle’s processing capabilities under normal conditions. When a potential siren signal is detected, the second stage is triggered, which uses just 34 MIPS to perform revalidation. This means that in the absence of a siren, the system operates in the background with minimal load while optimizing overall performance and resource management.
Platforms and Customization
Our system is designed to be highly adaptable and efficient, fitting seamlessly onto many DSPs with models smaller than 500 kB. At the application level, the solution’s model size is a compact 2.2 MB, ensuring it operates smoothly without overburdening the system. This efficient use of resources makes Sensory’s solution an excellent fit for a wide range of automotive platforms. Sensory also provides customized tools to enhance the system’s versatility, allowing for easy integration and optimal performance. This perfect balance of compactness, efficiency, and versatility underscores the system’s ability to deliver reliable siren detection while conserving valuable processing power.
Implementation Details
Our emergency vehicle siren detection system is built on a compact DSP solution that efficiently identifies potential siren events in real-time. When the DSP detects a siren, it sends the relevant audio to a second stage running at the application level for further analysis. This second stage, known as the revalidation stage, is powered by our TrulySecure Speaker Verification (TSSV) product and incorporates a two-tiered verification process. The first tier is a statistical revalidation that quickly assesses the likelihood of a siren signal, ensuring minimal computational overhead. Only if this initial analysis indicates a strong possibility of a siren does the system engage the second tier, a deep neural network revalidation. This neural network, while more computationally demanding, is highly accurate and is only activated when necessary, preserving system efficiency. By employing this multi-layered approach, the system maintains high detection accuracy while optimizing resource usage. This design ensures that the most computationally expensive processes are only used when there is substantial evidence of a siren, making the system both powerful and efficient. The result is a robust siren detection solution that balances performance with resource conservation.
Talk to us!
Sensory’s Automotive Siren Detection System is a game-changer for enhancing road safety. Its ability to seamlessly integrate into a range of modern vehicles while conserving processing power marks a significant advancement in emergency response technology. By improving the responsiveness of both drivers and autonomous vehicles to sirens, this system promises to keep occupants and roads safer. We are enthusiastic about the future of this technology and its potential to save lives and reduce accidents. To experience our cutting-edge solution firsthand, we invite you to contact us for a demonstration. Let’s drive toward a safer future together.