Comparison of the sound source localization methods appropriate for a compact microphone array

Abstract

: The sound source localization technique has various application fields in the era of internet-of-things, for which the probe size becomes critical. The localization methods using the acoustic intensity vector has an advantage of downsizing the layout of the array owing to a small finite-difference error for the short distance between adjacent microphones. In this paper, the acoustic intensity vector and the Time Difference of Arrival (TDoA) method are compared in the viewpoint of the localization error in the far-field. The comparison is made according to the change of spacing between adjacent microphones of the three-dimensional microphone array arranged in a tetrahedral shape. An additional test is conducted in the reverberant field by varying the reverberation time to verify the effectiveness of the methods applied to the actual environments. For estimating the TDoA, the Generalized Cross Correlation-Phase transform (GCC-PHAT) algorithm is adopted in the computation. It is found that the mean localization error of the acoustic intensimetry is 2.9° and that of the GCC-PHAT is 7.3° for T 60 = 0.4 s, while the error increases as 9.9°, 13.0° for T 60 = 1.0 s, respectively. The data supports that a compact array employing the acoustic intensimetry can localize of the sound source in the actual environment with the moderate reflection conditions.