Getting started with SUSAS: a speech under simulated and actual stress database

It is well known that the introduction of acoustic background distortion and the variability resulting from environmentally induced stress causes speech recognition algorithms to fail. In this paper, we discuss SUSAS: a speech database collected for analysis and algorithm formulation of speech recognition in noise and stress. The SUSAS database refers to Speech Under Simulated and Actual Stress, and is intended to be employed in the study of how speech production and recognition varies when speaking during stressed conditions. This paper will discuss (i) the formulation of the SUSAS database, (ii) baseline speech recognition using SUSAS data, and (iii) previous research studies which have used the SUSAS data base. The motivation for this paper is to familiarize the speech community with SUSAS, which was released April 1997 on CD-ROM through the NATO RSG.10.