The competition between video conferencing platforms is stiff. Companies are constantly introducing new features to stand out above the rest. Google’s video conferencing app, Google Meet — formerly known as Hangouts Meet — launched a new noise cancellation feature that uses machine learning to differentiate between human voices and background noise.
Google Meet is the first app to use an AI-powered noise cancellation feature. Other video conferencing apps have background noise suppression features but with very many limitations. The company has been working on this feature for quite some time and recently announced that it would be available for all its users in the coming months.
How the Noise Cancellation feature works
Noise cancellation is similar to speech recognition in that a machine learning model needs to be trained to understanding speech. By using a labeled data set, the learning model learns to distinguish between noise and speech. As a result, it eliminates the noise and retains the speech. Google relied on company meetings and YouTube audio clips to train the model.
Google Meet’s Background Noise Cancellation feature identifies the user’s voice then eliminates every other type of noise that doesn’t match the voice. The function dampens any external noise, including sounds produced by ceiling fans, children, door slams, etc. Moreover, it can calculate the distance between the source of the noise and the microphone. Hence, it’ll be much easier to distinguish between your voice and external sound.
How disruptive noise is filtered out
The machine learning model adapts for the amplitude to determine what to filter out. Noise suppression used by other video conferencing apps can only identify familiar sounds such as keyboard keystrokes. What Google has that competitors don’t have is Artificial Intelligence. Google Meet’s feature uses AI, making it more advanced than other apps.
This is an impressive step forward in limiting interruptions while users are in a meeting. If you pay close attention to the sound produced when the noise cancellation feature is inactive versus when it is active, you’ll definitely hear the difference.
How to enable the Noise Cancellation feature
Enabling this feature on the Google Meet app is very easy. You can choose to do it before a meeting starts or during the session, as well.
To enable Noise Cancellation before a meeting.
- From the Homepage, go to Settings. (Select the gear icon in the right-hand corner of the app.)
- You’ll see two tabs, one for Audio and the other for Video. Click on the Audio tab.
- Under microphone, you’ll see the Noise Cancellation option, simply click on the greyed toggle button to turn it on.
- The greyed toggle button will turn to green, meaning the feature is active.
To enable Noise Cancellation during a meeting.
- While in a meeting, tap the three vertical dots found at the bottom right corner of the app.
- On the list of options, click on Settings.
- You’ll see two tabs, one for Audio and the other for Video. Again, click on the Audio tab.
- Under the microphone, you’ll see the Noise Cancellation option. As with the previous situation, simply click on the greyed toggle button to turn it on.
- The greyed toggle button will turn to green, meaning the feature is active. You should be able to hear the difference within a few seconds.
How to turn off the Noise Cancellation feature
Google Meet’s Background Noise Cancellation feature is switched on by default for all devices using the platform. However, there’ll be no visual indication that it is turned on. This helps keep the software interface as clean as possible. Users can still choose to turn it off by following the steps below.
- Open the Google Meet app/website.
- Go to your Settings. (Select the gear icon in the right-hand corner of the app.)
- You’ll see two tabs, one for Audio and the other for Video. Click on the Audio tab.
- Under microphone, click to toggle the Noise cancellation option off. You’ll know it’s turned on if the toggle switch is green.
- The greyed-out toggle switch means that the feature is inactive/turned off.
What Noise Cancellation Sounds Like
If you don’t have G Suite Enterprise or G Suite Enterprise for Education users, you can watch a demonstration of how the feature works in a demo video produced by VentureBeat. Serge Lachapelle, G Suite director of product management, demonstrates how the Noice Cancellation seamlessly dampens external noise.
He demonstrates with common noises such as wrapper crinkling, pen clicking, and glass clinking to show the efficiency of the feature. When the feature is activated, users can’t hear the noise, but his voice remains unaffected.
It is also essential to point out that the feature is not 100% perfect, meaning that it cannot cancel out all noise just by detecting human voices. Google is planning to improve the feature overtime after the gradual rollout is done.
With its machine learning model based in the cloud, users will be able to benefit from these improvements simultaneously on any device set up to use it.
User’s Data Privacy and Security
When it comes to a user’s data privacy and safety, Lachapelle emphasized that the data is encrypted. Google will not use external meetings to train its AI model. On the contrary, it will use customer feedback to improve the feature over time.
Scheduled Release and Availability
Currently, not all devices have the feature, despite the cloud-based AI. Google has yet to release the Noise Cancellation feature for mobile devices, but it will be made available to all smartphone users soon.
The Noise Cancellation Feature is only available to G Suite Enterprise and G Suite Enterprise for Education users. Google has further disclosed that they will roll out the feature on Google Meet Web Client before mobile devices. It is still unclear when the Noise cancellation feature will be available to Personal Google accounts.
Conclusion
With a leg up on video and audio communication, Google’s new Noise Cancellation feature brings it to the forefront of the competition. No more having to get up and move to a “quieter spot” — this feature should be just what you need.
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