Fraunhofer-GesellschaftDevelopment of an audio coding procedure for improved voice and sound quality in telephony
Dipl.-Ing. Marc Gayer, Dipl.-Ing. Manfred Lutzky, Dipl.-Ing. Makrus Schnell (Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS)
Despite digital transmission, poor tone quality still makes it difficult to understand the person at the other end of a telephone call or video conference. The narrow bandwidth used to transmit such conversations is to blame.
Engineers Marc Gayer, Manfred Lutzky and Markus Schnell of Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS have developed an audio coding procedure for telephony similar to that used for music transmission in mp3 and AAC technology. Their procedure markedly improves the telephony experience, whether over a landline, on a mobile phone or in a video conference. The trick is the coding system’s extremely short delay. Users no longer perceive any time lag and notice only improved voice and sound quality. New video conference systems based on this technology make users feel like they are sitting in the same room together. The low-delay AAC technology developed by the prize-winning team is already integrated into millions of products.