Three-dimensional localization of point acoustic sources using a planar microphone array combined with beamforming

This paper presents a beamforming-based acoustic imaging (BBAI) method employing a two-dimensional (2D) microphone array that not only can locate an acoustic source in the XY plane parallel to the array, but can also identify the distance between the source and array in the Z direction, denoted as the source depth, and thus provides three-dimensional (3D) localization ability. In this method, the acoustic field is reconstructed on virtual XY planes at different distances along the Z direction. The source depth is then determined according to the virtual plane providing the maximum response of the acoustic field. The location of the source in the X and Y directions of the identified virtual plane can then be easily determined based on the standard beamforming principles of a planar array. The proposed BBAI method is evaluated based on simulations involving single- and multiple-point sources, and corresponding experimental evaluations are similarly conducted in an anechoic chamber. Both simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is capable of locating acoustic sources in 3D space.