Design of UAV-Embedded Microphone Array System for Sound Source Localization in Outdoor Environments

Kotaro Hoshiba; Kai Washizaki; Mizuho Wakabayashi; Takahiro Ishiki; Makoto Kumon; Yoshiaki Bando; Daniel Gabriel; Kazuhiro Nakadai; Hiroshi G Okuno

doi:10.3390/s17112535

Design of UAV-Embedded Microphone Array System for Sound Source Localization in Outdoor Environments

Sensors (Basel). 2017 Nov 3;17(11):2535. doi: 10.3390/s17112535.

Authors

Kotaro Hoshiba¹, Kai Washizaki², Mizuho Wakabayashi³, Takahiro Ishiki⁴, Makoto Kumon⁵, Yoshiaki Bando⁶, Daniel Gabriel⁷, Kazuhiro Nakadai^{8

9}, Hiroshi G Okuno¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Department of Systems and Control Engineering, School of Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan. hoshiba@ra.sc.e.titech.ac.jp.
² Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan. k.washizaki@ick.mech.kumamoto-u.ac.jp.
³ Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan. m.wakabayashi@ick.mech.kumamoto-u.ac.jp.
⁴ Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan. takahiro.ishiki@lixil.com.
⁵ Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan. kumon@gpo.kumamoto-u.ac.jp.
⁶ Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. yoshiaki@kuis.kyoto-u.ac.jp.
⁷ Department of Systems and Control Engineering, School of Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan. gabriel@ra.sc.e.titech.ac.jp.
⁸ Department of Systems and Control Engineering, School of Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan. nakadai@ra.sc.e.titech.ac.jp.
⁹ Honda Research Institute Japan Co., Ltd., 8-1 Honcho, Wako, Saitama 351-0188, Japan. nakadai@ra.sc.e.titech.ac.jp.
¹⁰ Graduate Program for Embodiment Informatics, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-8555, Japan. okuno@nue.org.

Abstract

In search and rescue activities, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) should exploit sound information to compensate for poor visual information. This paper describes the design and implementation of a UAV-embedded microphone array system for sound source localization in outdoor environments. Four critical development problems included water-resistance of the microphone array, efficiency in assembling, reliability of wireless communication, and sufficiency of visualization tools for operators. To solve these problems, we developed a spherical microphone array system (SMAS) consisting of a microphone array, a stable wireless network communication system, and intuitive visualization tools. The performance of SMAS was evaluated with simulated data and a demonstration in the field. Results confirmed that the SMAS provides highly accurate localization, water resistance, prompt assembly, stable wireless communication, and intuitive information for observers and operators.

Keywords: multiple signal classification; outdoor-environment measurement; real-time measurement; robot audition; sound source localization; unmanned aerial vehicle.