Optimizing Speech Emotion Recognition with Deep Learning and Grey Wolf Optimization: A Multi-Dataset Approach

Abstract

Machine learning and speech emotion recognition are rapidly evolving fields, significantly impacting human-centered computing. Machine learning enables computers to learn from data and make predictions, while speech emotion recognition allows computers to identify and understand human emotions from speech. These technologies contribute to the creation of innovative human–computer interaction (HCI) applications. Deep learning algorithms, capable of learning high-level features directly from raw data, have given rise to new emotion recognition approaches employing models trained on advanced speech representations like spectrograms and time–frequency representations. This study introduces CNN and LSTM models with GWO optimization, aiming to determine optimal parameters for achieving enhanced accuracy within a specified parameter set. The proposed CNN and LSTM models with GWO optimization underwent performance testing on four diverse datasets—RAVDESS, SAVEE, TESS, and EMODB. The results indicated superior performance of the models compared to linear and kernelized SVM, with or without GWO optimizers.