Model and application of a binaural 360° sound localization system

Abstract

We introduce a biologically inspired sound localization system, based on an open two-microphone configuration. Its purpose is to perform a robust, 360-degree detection of objects, in particular humans, in the horizontal plane. In our approach, we consider neurophysiological findings to discuss the biological plausibility of the coding and extraction of spatial features, but also meet the demands and constraints of a practical application in the field of human-robot interaction. We process interaural time differences for the left/right detection and spectrum-based features to discriminate between, in front and behind. Tests in real environments are used to demonstrate the function and the application of the system. We briefly touch the point of handling different acoustic room characteristics and give reasons why the proposed model can show advantages over conventional correlation methods.