Localization of sound sources in robotics: A review

Abstract

Sound source localization (SSL) in a robotic platform has been essential in the overall scheme of robot audition. It allows a robot to locate a sound source by sound alone. It has an important impact on other robot audition modules, such as source separation, and it enriches human–robot interaction by complementing the robot’s perceptual capabilities. The main objective of this review is to thoroughly map the current state of the SSL field for the reader and provide a starting point to SSL in robotics. To this effect, we present: the evolution and historical context of SSL in robotics; an extensive review and classification of SSL techniques and popular tracking methodologies; different facets of SSL as well as its state-of-the-art; evaluation methodologies used for SSL; and a set of challenges and research motivations.