Biomimetic Sonar System Performing Spectrum-Based Localization

In this paper, we study echolocation by spectral analysis as a biomimetic, i.e., inspired by bats, mechanism to observe a realistic environment. We propose a method to localize, i.e., to estimate the distance and bearing of reflectors, on the basis of a time-frequency representation of the returned echo similar to the one derived by the bat's cochlea. The sonar system consists of a central transmitter, and two receivers pointing plusmn5deg outward. The method proposed reconstructs the environment by comparing the returned echoes with binaural spectral templates corresponding with echoes from different angles. We further show that a distance matrix defined on the set of templates can be used as a measure of their accuracy and reliability for localization purposes. We include experimental results that validate the system and indicate that it can deal with the complex echo signals received when confronted with realistic reflectors, i.e., possibly consisting of a large number of closely spaced scatterers.

[1]  Nicola Neretti,et al.  Evaluation of an auditory model for echo delay accuracy in wideband biosonar. , 2003, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[2]  R. Altes.  Detection, estimation, and classification with spectrograms , 1980 .

[3]  Philip Webb,et al.  High-resolution beam forming for ultrasonic arrays , 1996, IEEE Trans. Robotics Autom..

[4]  John Hallam,et al.  3D object localisation with a binaural sonarhead, inspirations from biology , 1998, Proceedings. 1998 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.98CH36146).

[5]  Malcolm Slaney,et al.  An Efficient Implementation of the Patterson-Holdsworth Auditory Filter Bank , 1997 .

[6]  Powen Ru,et al.  Multiresolution spectrotemporal analysis of complex sounds. , 2005, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[7]  H Peremans,et al.  One tone, two ears, three dimensions: a robotic investigation of pinnae movements used by rhinolophid and hipposiderid bats. , 1998, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[8]  Roman Kuc,et al.  Neuro-computational processing of moving sonar echoes classifies and localizes foliage. , 2004, Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[9]  C. Biber,et al.  The Polaroid Ultrasonic Ranging System , 1980 .

[10]  Phillip J. McKerrow,et al.  Measuring range and bearing with a binaural ultrasonic sensor , 1997, Proceedings of the 1997 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robot and Systems. Innovative Robotics for Real-World Applications. IROS '97.

[11]  Roman Kuc,et al.  Physically Based Simulation Model for Acoustic Sensor Robot Navigation , 1987, IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence.

[12]  J. Simmons,et al.  Spatially dependent acoustic cues generated by the external ear of the big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus. , 1995, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[13]  J. Pye,et al.  Correlated Orientation Sounds and Ear Movements of Horseshoe Bats , 1962, Nature.

[14]  Leslie Kay,et al.  Air Sonars with Acoustical Display of Spatial Information , 1980 .

[15]  C. Moss,et al.  The bat head-related transfer function reveals binaural cues for sound localization in azimuth and elevation. , 2004, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[16]  Lindsay Kleeman.  Advanced Sonar with Velocity Compensation , 2004, Int. J. Robotics Res..

[17]  M. Skolnik,et al.  Introduction to Radar Systems , 2021, Advances in Adaptive Radar Detection and Range Estimation.

[18]  Penny Probert Smith,et al.  Classification of Textured Surfaces for Robot Navigation Using Continuous Transmission Frequency-Modulated Sonar Signatures , 2001, Int. J. Robotics Res..

[19]  J. Pickles.  An Introduction to the Physiology of Hearing , 1982 .

[20]  Álvaro Hernández,et al.  FPGA Implementation of a Neuromimetic Cochlea for a Bionic Bat Head , 2004, FPL.

[21]  Billur Barshan,et al.  Radius of curvature estimation and localization of targets using multiple sonar sensors , 1999 .

[22]  R. Kuc.  Sensorimotor model of bat echolocation and prey capture. , 1994, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[23]  Billur Barshan,et al.  Differentiating Sonar Reflections from Corners and Planes by Employing an Intelligent Sensor , 1990, IEEE Trans. Pattern Anal. Mach. Intell..

[24]  R. Kuc,et al.  Foliage echoes: a probe into the ecological acoustics of bat echolocation. , 2000, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[25]  John J. Leonard,et al.  Robust Mapping and Localization in Indoor Environments Using Sonar Data , 2002, Int. J. Robotics Res..

[26]  R. Kuc,et al.  Biomimetic sonar recognizes objects using binaural information , 1997 .

[27]  Herbert Peremans.  Broad beamwidth ultrasonic transducers for tri-aural perception , 1997 .

[28]  Herbert Peremans,et al.  A high-resolution sensor based on tri-aural perception , 1993, IEEE Trans. Robotics Autom..

[29]  H. Peremans.  A maximum likelihood algorithm for solving the correspondence problem in tri-aural perception , 1994, Proceedings of 1994 IEEE International Conference on MFI '94. Multisensor Fusion and Integration for Intelligent Systems.

[30]  H Peremans,et al.  The spectrogram correlation and transformation receiver, revisited. , 1998, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[31]  Shin'ichi Yuta,et al.  Wall following using angle information measured by a single ultrasonic transducer , 1998, Proceedings. 1998 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.98CH36146).

[32]  Lindsay Kleeman,et al.  Mobile Robot Sonar for Target Localization and Classification , 1995, Int. J. Robotics Res..

[33]  Billur Barshan,et al.  A bat-like sonar system for obstacle localization , 1992, IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern..

[34]  John Hallam,et al.  Knowledge mining for biomimetic smart antenna shapes , 2005, Robotics Auton. Syst..

[35]  Phillip J. McKerrow,et al.  Navigating an outdoor robot along continuous landmarks with ultrasonic sensing , 2003, Robotics Auton. Syst..

[36]  C. Moss,et al.  Echolocation in bats and dolphins , 2003 .

[37]  J A Simmons,et al.  A computational model of echo processing and acoustic imaging in frequency-modulated echolocating bats: the spectrogram correlation and transformation receiver. , 1993, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.