Source Detection Using Repetitive Structure

Blind source separation algorithms typically require that the number of sources are known in advance. However, it is often the case that the number of sources change over time and that the total number is not known. Existing source separation techniques require source number estimation methods to determine how many sources are active within the mixture signals. These methods typically operate on the covariance matrix of mixture recordings and require fewer active sources than mixtures. When sources do not overlap in the time-frequency domain, more sources than mixtures may be detected and then separated. However, separating more sources than mixtures when sources overlap in time and frequency poses a particularly difficult problem. This paper addresses the issue of source detection when more sources than sensors overlap in time and frequency. We show that repetitive structure in the form of time-time correlation matrices can reveal when each source is active