Real-time implementation of a distributed voice activity detector

Wireless sensor networks have been applied successfully in real-time distributed and collaborative sensing. In these situations, each sensor is responsible for extracting pertinent information from the surrounding environment and transmitting it to other sensors and/or to the main processing station. This is done while operating under several constraints, such as low computational capabilities, limited arithmetic precision, and the need to conserve power. In this paper, we present a low-complexity voice activity detector and a gender classifier for implementation on the Crossbow sensor motes. In addition, a decision fusion algorithm that resides at the base station is also implemented. A series of experiments that characterize the performance of the algorithms under varying conditions and in different environments are presented and several of the challenges we faced in developing this real-time implementation are discussed.