For Release: May 9, 2018

AES Milan Convention Announces Best Paper Awards, to Be Presented During Opening Ceremonies

— Best Student Paper Award and Best Peer-Reviewed Paper Award highlight top research and advancements in the field of audio engineering — 

The AES Milan Convention has announced the winners of the “Best Student Paper Award” and “Best Peer-Reviewed Paper Award,” to be presented during the Opening Ceremonies on 23 May at 13:00. These distinctions, which honor outstanding achievement in academic papers being presented at the convention, will be presented by AES Milan Papers co-chairs Ville Pulkki and Sascha Spors, and Dr. Rob Maher, AES Student Technical Paper Award Coordinator. 

Taking place 23-26 May at the NH Hotel Milano Congress Centre in Milan, Italy, the 144th AES International Convention will present the latest in scientific research in audio engineering and related fields. Presentations from 100 authors from around the world will cover topics including Loudspeakers, Audio Quality, Applications, Spatial Audio, Processing, Perception, Audio Education and more. 

The “Best Student Paper Award” goes to co-authors Qingbo Huang, Xihong Wu and Tianshu Qu, all of Peking University (Beijing, China), for the paper “Bandwidth Extension Method Based on Generative Adversarial Nets for Audio Compression,” which will be presented during the P10 – Audio Coding, Analysis, and Synthesis session on Thursday, 24 May, 11:15 – 12:45.

“Best Peer-Reviewed Paper Award” goes to co-authors Leo McCormack (Aalto University – Espoo, Finland), Symeon Delikaris-Manias (Aalto University – Helsinki, Finland), Angelo Farina (Università di Parma – Parma, Italy), Daniel Pinardi (Università di Parma – Parma, Italy) and Ville Pulkki (Aalto University – Espoo, Finland). Their paper, “Real-Time Conversion of Sensor Array Signals into Spherical Harmonic Signals with Applications to Spatially Localised Sub-Band Sound-Field Analysis,“ will be presented during the P07 – Spatial Audio-Part 1 session on Thursday, May 24, 09:00 – 12:30 

Abstract for Best Student Paper Award – “Bandwidth Extension Method Based on Generative Adversarial Nets for Audio Compression” (Convention Paper 9954):

The compression ratio of core-encoder can be improved significantly by reducing the bandwidth of the audio signal, resulting in poor listening perception. This paper proposes a bandwidth extension method based on generative adversarial nets (GAN) for extending the bandwidth of an audio signal, to create a more natural sound. The method uses GAN as a generative model to fit the distribution of the MDCT coefficients of the audio signals in high-frequency components. Through minimax two-player gaming, more natural high-frequency information can be estimated. On this basis, a codec system is built up. To evaluate the proposed bandwidth extension system, the MUSHRA experiments were carried out, and the results show that there is comparable performance with HE-AAC. 

Abstract for Best Peer Reviewed Paper – “Real-Time Conversion of Sensor Array Signals into Spherical Harmonic Signals with Applications to Spatially Localised Sub-Band Sound-Field Analysis” (Convention Paper 9939):

This paper presents two real-time audio plug-ins for processing sensor array signals for sound-field visualization. The first plug-in utilizes spherical or cylindrical sensor array specifications to provide analytical spatial filters that encode the array signals into spherical harmonic signals. The second plug-in utilizes these intermediate signals to estimate the direction-of-arrival of sound sources, based on a spatially localised pressure-intensity (SLPI) approach. The challenge with the traditional pressure-intensity (PI) sound-field analysis is that it performs poorly when presented with multiple sound sources with similar spectral content. Test results indicate that the proposed SLPI approach is capable of identifying sound source directions with reduced error in various environments, when compared to the PI method. 

Best Paper Awards and much more will be taking place at the AES Milan Convention as the Audio Engineering Society celebrates its 70th anniversary – register now at aeseurope.com and make plans to join us for the complete technical program of papers presentations, special events, workshops, tutorials, gear exhibition and more covering all things audio. All research papers will also be made available in advance of the convention in the AES E-Library and available for free download for AES members.

About AES Milan

Themed “The Power of Sound,” the 144th International AES Convention will bring together audio professionals, students, enthusiasts and advanced audio technologies from around the world for four days of audio immersion, experiences and networking. Register now for AES Milan at aeseurope.com for Advance Registration rates through 1 May, including additional discount pricing for AES Members and students. Complimentary Exhibits-Plus badges are also available by using code AES144NOW at checkout.