Providing a simple and efficient algorithm for passive sound localization

Abstract

The sound source localization (SSL) system is one of the main approaches for detecting targets. This kind of localization method is carried out in a passive way, without the emission of any signals, and cannot be detected easily. This paper investigates the two-dimensional SSL of stationary targets using only three receivers. Given that, flow-induced noise of the bluff-bodies in viscous fluids is one of the most important noise generation sources, firstly, this noise is simulated numerically. Due to the distance between the receivers in an array, the sound reaches the receiver with time delay. High accuracy SSL needs highly accurate time delays measurement. In the following, time delays are obtained by calculating the cross-correlation in a time domain of sound signals arriving at the receiver array, and next, the bearing angle of the sound source is estimated. Later, using a new, simple (easy installation), fast (real-time), and accurate pure geometric algorithm, the source candidate locations are obtained. Then, using an elimination algorithm, the ambiguity of the noise source location is removed, and source imaginary locations are removed. Finally, this process is validated by a physical algorithm. Numerical results verify the effectiveness of this geometric algorithm.