Acoustic robot navigation using distributed microphone arrays

Abstract This paper presents a method for the navigation of a mobile robot using sound localization in the context of a robotic lab tour guide. Sound localization, which is achieved using an array of 24 microphones distributed on two walls of the lab, is performed whenever the robot speaks as part of the tour. The SRP-PHAT sound localization algorithm is used to estimate the current location of the robot using approximately 2 s of recorded signal. Navigation is achieved using several stops during which the estimated location of the robot is used to make course adjustments. Experiments using the acoustic robot navigation system illustrate the accuracy of the proposed technique, which resulted in an average localization error of about 7 cm close to the array and 30 cm far away from the array.

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