scholarly journals An Acoustic Source Localization Method Using a Drone-Mounted Phased Microphone Array

Drones ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Yeong-Ju Go ◽  
Jong-Soo Choi

Currently, the detection of targets using drone-mounted imaging equipment is a very useful technique and is being utilized in many areas. In this study, we focus on acoustic signal detection with a drone detecting targets where sounds occur, unlike image-based detection. We implement a system in which a drone detects acoustic sources above the ground by applying a phase difference microphone array technique. Localization methods of acoustic sources are based on beamforming methods. The background and self-induced noise that is generated when a drone flies reduces the signal-to-noise ratio for detecting acoustic signals of interest, making it difficult to analyze signal characteristics. Furthermore, the strongly correlated noise, generated when a propeller rotates, acts as a factor that degrades the noise source direction of arrival estimation performance of the beamforming method. Spectral reduction methods have been effective in reducing noise by adjusting to specific frequencies in acoustically very harsh situations where drones are always exposed to their own noise. Since the direction of arrival of acoustic sources estimated from the beamforming method is based on the drone’s body frame coordinate system, we implement a method to estimate acoustic sources above the ground by fusing flight information output from the drone’s flight navigation system. The proposed method for estimating acoustic sources above the ground is experimentally validated by a drone equipped with a 32-channel time-synchronized MEMS microphone array. Additionally, the verification of the sound source location detection method was limited to the explosion sound generated from the fireworks. We confirm that the acoustic source location can be detected with an error performance of approximately 10 degrees of azimuth and elevation at the ground distance of about 150 m between the drone and the explosion location.

Telecom ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-180
Author(s):  
George K. Varotsos ◽  
Hector E. Nistazakis ◽  
Konstantinos Aidinis ◽  
Fadi Jaber ◽  
Mohd Nasor ◽  
...  

Recent developments in both optical wireless communication (OWC) systems and implanted medical devices (IMDs) have introduced transdermal optical wireless (TOW) technology as a viable candidate for extremely high-speed in-body to out-of-body wireless data transmissions, which are growing in demand for many vital biomedical applications, including telemetry with medical implants, health monitoring, neural recording and prostheses. Nevertheless, this emerging communication modality is primarily hindered by skin-induced attenuation of the propagating signal bit carrier along with its stochastic misalignment-induced fading. Thus, by considering a typical modulated retroreflective (MRR) TOW system with spatial diversity and optimal combining (OC) for signal reception in this work, we focus, for the first time in the MRR TOW literature, on the stochastic nature of generalized pointing errors with non-zero boresight (NZB). Specifically, under these circumstances, novel analytical mathematical expressions were derived for the total average bit error rate (BER) of various system configurations. Their results revealed significant outage performance enhancements when spatial diversity was utilized. Moreover, taking into consideration the total transdermal pathloss along with the effects of stochastic NZB pointing errors, the critical average signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) metric was evaluated for typical power spectral-density values.


Sensors ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 3062 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinwoo Choi ◽  
Jeonghong Park ◽  
Yoongeon Lee ◽  
Jongdae Jung ◽  
Hyun-Taek Choi

Acoustic source localization is used in many underwater applications. Acquiring an accurate directional angle for an acoustic source is crucial for source localization. To achieve this purpose, this paper presents a method for directional angle estimation of underwater acoustic sources using a marine vehicle. It is assumed that the vehicle is equipped with two hydrophones and that the acoustic source transmits a specific signal repeatedly. The proposed method provides a probabilistic model for time delay estimation. The probability is recursively updated by prediction and update steps. The prediction step performs a probability transition using the angular displacement of the marine vehicle. The predicted probability is updated using a generalized cross correlation function with a verification process using entropy measurement. The proposed method can provide a reliable and accurate estimation of the directional angles of underwater acoustic sources. Experimental results demonstrate good performance of the proposed probabilistic directional angle estimation method in both an inland water environment and a harbor environment.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. e0200890
Author(s):  
Tianquan Feng ◽  
Qingrong Chen ◽  
Ming Yi ◽  
Zhongdang Xiao

Author(s):  
Ismail El Ouargui ◽  
Said Safi ◽  
Miloud Frikel

The resolution of a Direction of Arrival (DOA) estimation algorithm is determined based on its capability to resolve two closely spaced signals. In this paper, authors present and discuss the minimum number of array elements needed for the resolution of nearby sources in several DOA estimation methods. In the real world, the informative signals are corrupted by Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN). Thus, a higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) offers a better resolution. Therefore, we show the performance of each method by applying the algorithms in different noise level environments.


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