Go To Program 147 Front-end Audio Processing: Reflections on Issues, Requirements, and Solutions Tomas Gaensler 1 1 mh acoustics, Summit, NJ, United States Since its start in 1989, International Workshop on Acoustic Echo and Noise Control (IWAENC) has been an excellent venue for presenting and discussing work and progress of echo cancellation (acoustic/network) as well as noise suppression. In previous workshops and conferences, it has been proclaimed that the “AEC problem has been solved.” If this were true, why do we still see so much activity is this field, and the larger one of front-end voice processing, at both universities and commercial-industrial enterprises? Many times, industry needs to do more serious investigations than is possible in the time allotted to a project; an issue that is typically not a problem for universities. Universities on the other hand, sometimes need guidance from industry on what actual important problems that need to be solved. With these themes in mind, an objective of this keynote is to discuss directions where industry requirements are pushing the boundaries of front-end processing technology and to look at the challenges such efforts pose. I will also take a look at the progress made in this these fields over the years, and share some of my experiences and stories in developing and deploying these technologies in commercial products. Hopefully, these ideas may inspire new research in the field of front-end voice processing. View pdf