Application of passive acoustic radar to automatic localization, tracking and classification of sound sources

A concept, a practical realization and applications of a passive acoustic radar for automatic localization, tracking and classification of sound sources were presented in the paper. The device consists of a new kind of multichannel miniature sound intensity sensors and a group of digital signal processing algorithms. Contrary to active radars, it does not emit a scanning beam but after receiving surrounding sounds it provides an information about the directions of incoming acoustical signals. The acoustic sound pressure of a given event should be greater than the noise background. The practical examinations of the sensitivity and accuracy of the developed passive acoustic radar were also presented and discussed. The recognized sound events were divided into several types such as: explosion, shot, breaking glass, human scream. The information about the sound event direction can be used to the automatic and remote control of a Pan Tilt Zoom (PTZ) camera. The automatic and continuous tracking of a selected sound source movement is also possible. The proposed device can significantly improve the functionality of traditional surveillance monitoring systems.