Energy-Based Collaborative Source Localization Using Acoustic Microsensor Array

A novel sensor network source localization method based on acoustic energy measurements is presented. This method makes use of the characteristics that the acoustic energy decays inversely with respect to the square of distance from the source. By comparing energy readings measured at surrounding acoustic sensors, the source location during that time interval can be accurately estimated as the intersection of multiple hyperspheres. Theoretical bounds on the number of sensors required to yield unique solution are derived. Extensive simulations have been conducted to characterize the performance of this method under various parameter perturbations and noise conditions. Potential advantages of this approach include low intersensor communication requirement, robustness with respect to parameter perturbations and measurement noise, and low-complexity implementation.