Microsoft Teams now uses AI to improve echo, interruptions

SAN FRANCISCO: Tech giant Microsoft now uses new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered voice quality improvements to improve echo, interruptions, and acoustics on Teams.

According to The Verge, the tech giant is now using machine learning (ML) models to improve room acoustics so users will no longer sound like they are hiding in a cave.

"While we have been trying our best with digital signal processing to do a really good job in Teams, we have now started using machine learning for the first time to build echo cancellation where you can truly reduce echo from all the different devices," Robert Aichner, a principal programme manager for intelligent conversation and communications cloud at Microsoft, was quoted as saying in an interview.

Microsoft has been testing this for months, measuring its models in the real world to ensure Teams users are noticing the echo reduction and improvements in call quality.

The software maker used 30,000 hours of speech to help train its models, and captured thousands of devices through crowdsourcing where Teams users are paid to record their voice and playback audio from their device.

"We also simulate about 100,000 different rooms... the room acoustics play a big role in echo cancellation," said Aichner.

The result is big improvements in-call audio quality, and an elimination of echo that also allows multiple people to speak at the same time, the report said.

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