A Neuromorphic Monaural Sound Localizer

John G. Harris, Chiang-Jung Pu, José Carlos Príncipe

Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 11 (NIPS 1998)

We describe the first single microphone sound localization system and its inspiration from theories of human monaural sound localiza(cid:173) tion. Reflections and diffractions caused by the external ear (pinna) allow humans to estimate sound source elevations using only one ear. Our single microphone localization model relies on a specially shaped reflecting structure that serves the role of the pinna. Spe(cid:173) cially designed analog VLSI circuitry uses echo-time processing to localize the sound. A CMOS integrated circuit has been designed, fabricated, and successfully demonstrated on actual sounds.