A Beamforming-Based Video-Zoom Driven Audio-Zoom Algorithm for Portable Digital Imaging Devices

A video-zoom driven audio-zoom algorithm is proposed to provide audio zooming effects according to the degree of video-zoom. The proposed algorithm is designed based on a super-directive beamformer operating with a 4-channel microphone array in conjunction with a soft masking process that uses the phase differences between microphones. The audio-zoom processed signal is obtained by multiplying the audio gain derived from the video-zoom level by the masked signal. The proposed algorithm is then implemented on a portable digital imaging device with a clock speed of 600 MHz after different levels of optimization, such as algorithmic level, C-code and memory optimization. As a result, the processing time of the proposed audio-zoom algorithm occupies 14.6% or less of the clock speed of the device. The performance evaluation conducted in a semi-anechoic chamber shows that the signals from the front direction can be amplified by approximately 10 dB compared to the other directions.