A Novel Method for Epoch Extraction from Speech Signals

This paper introduces a novel method of speech epoch extraction using a modified Wigner-Ville distribution. The Wigner-Ville distribution is an efficient speech representation tool with which minute speech variations can be tracked precisely. In this paper, epoch detection/extraction using accurate energy tracking, noise robustness, and the efficient speech representation properties of a modified discrete Wigner-Ville distribution is explored. The developed technique is tested using the Arctic database and its epoch information from an electro-glottograph as reference epochs. The developed algorithm is compared with the available state of the art methods in various noise conditions (babble, white, and vehicle) and different levels of degradation. The proposed method outperforms the existing methods in the literature.