Abstract: A weld travel speed sensing system includes at least one sound sensor configured to sense a sound generated to allow determination of a position of a welding torch. The weld travel speed sensing system is configured to determine a position of a point on the welding torch based on the sensed sound.

Abstract: The invention disclosed herein relates to methods and means for locating entities, places and/or things. Various embodiments of the methods and means of the invention may be performed by and/or implemented in hardware, in software, by one or more entities, and/or by some combination of hardware, software and/or one or more entities.

Abstract: A mobile communications device contains at least two microphones. One microphone is located away from the handset receiver and serves to pick up voice of a near end user of the device for transmission to the other party during a call. Another microphone is located near the handset receiver and serves to pick up acoustic output of the handset receiver (a far end signal). A signal processor measures the frequency response of the receiver. The signal processor performs spectral analysis of the receiver frequency response to determine whether or not the device is being held at the ear of the user. On that basis, the device automatically changes its operating mode, e.g., turns on or off a touch sensitive display screen during the call. Other embodiments are also described.

Abstract: An apparatus for resolving an ambiguity from a DOA estimate includes a DOA estimate analyzer for analyzing the DOA estimate to obtain a plurality of ambiguous analysis parameters by using a bias information, the bias information representing a relation between a biased and an unbiased DOA estimate, and an ambiguity resolver for resolving the ambiguity in the plurality of ambiguous analysis parameters to obtain a non-ambiguous resolved parameter.

Abstract: Provided is a radio communication device for performing radio communication with another radio communication device includes a control unit that controls to prepare for data loss during radio communication of transmission data and a transmission unit that transmits the transmission data by radio according to the control of the control unit. One of the radio communication device and the other radio communication device estimates a distance from the other based on a field intensity of a radio signal which is judged to satisfy a certain requirement regarding noise component among received radio signals received from the other of the radio communication device and the other radio communication device. The control unit performs a control of a content according to the distance estimation result.

Abstract: A direction controllable lighting unit 10 for use in a lighting system is described. The light emission of the lighting unit 10 may be directed into different directions, e. g. by use of a mechanically movable element 14, 60. At least two ultrasound transmitters 20a, 20b, or ultrasound receivers 21a, 21b are disposed at the lighting unit 10 such that they differ in position, or in direction or shape of the spatial intensity distribution or spatial distribution of reception sensitivity. A mobile control element 46 has at least one corresponding ultrasound transmitter or receiver 50. A difference between a signal from a transmitter received at multiple receivers, or a signal of multiple transmitters received at a single receiver is used to determine a relative direction of the direction controllable lighting unit 10 and the control element 46, and to control the direction of the lighting unit 10 in dependence thereof.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for detecting the launch position of a projectile is described. The apparatus includes at least one wideband microphone array positioned so as to be responsive to acoustic emissions generated by the launch and flight of a projectile. The apparatus includes signal processing means, for processing the signals generated by the microphone array or arrays, the output of which provides an estimate of launch position and kinematic information relating to the projectile.

Abstract: A method of locating an acoustic source using a plurality of vehicles is provided. The method includes transferring acoustic input from a plurality of sensors to a plurality of processing modules, determining a location of each of the vehicles using at least one of a global positioning system module and an inertial motion unit module located in each vehicle, processing, at each processing module, the received acoustic input, designating one of the processing modules a master processing module, and sending processed acoustic input received at each processing module to the master processing module, combining the processed acoustic input at the master processing module, and estimating acoustic source location based on combined processed acoustic data.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates generally to an automotive panel warning and protection system that enables vehicle operators to detect and avoid collisions between objects and low-height portions or panels of the underside of a vehicle. A vehicle is equipped with a range detector, video camera, or combination of both that is positioned on the vehicle such that it is able to determine a vertical clearance of a portion of the underside of the vehicle and an object external to the vehicle. If the vertical clearance is determined to fall below a vertical clearance threshold, the driver may be alerted. An interface system resident in the vehicle cabin may provide the vehicle operator with real-time visual information depicting spatial relationships between the external object and the vehicle and/or the portion of the underside of the vehicle that is determined not to have sufficient vertical clearance.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a signal processing apparatus and method for removing a reflected wave generated by a robot platform. The signal processing apparatus includes a transfer function measuring unit for measuring an inter-channel transfer function (IcTF) from signals of a plurality of channels; an impulse response obtaining unit for obtaining an inter-channel impulse response (IcIR) from the IcTF measured by the transfer function measuring unit; and reflected wave removing unit for removing the reflected wave by differentiating a direct wave directly generated by a sound source and the reflected wave with a time delay from the IcIR obtained by the impulse response obtaining unit. The signal processing method of removing a reflected wave includes measuring an IcTF from signals of a plurality of channels; obtaining an IcIR from the measured IcTF; and removing the reflected wave by differentiating a direct wave directly generated by a sound source and a the reflected wave with a time delay from the obtained IcIR.

Abstract: A device and a method to determine a position of a component that is moveable in a linear manner along an assigned axis are provided. A reference element that extends in a direction of the assigned axis is assigned to the component. The component may be brought into mechanical contact with the reference element. A respective piezo transducer is arranged on the reference element to generate and receive vibrations in a material used for the reference element.

Abstract: Proximity sensor, particularly for usage in an electronic mobile device, comprising at least one acoustic transducer adapted for receiving acoustic signals at least in parts of the frequency range of human audible sound and emitting and/or receiving ultrasonic signals for proximity estimation. The acoustic transducer preferably is a Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS) microphone. Further, a method in an electronic device comprising an acoustic transducer is provided comprising the steps of generating at least one electric signal in the frequency range of ultrasonic sound, emitting at least one ultrasonic signal by means of the acoustic transducer; receiving at least one ultrasonic signal by means of the acoustic transducer; deducing from the at least one emitted ultrasonic signal and the at least one received ultrasonic signal at least the delay between emission of the emitted ultrasonic signal and reception of the corresponding ultrasonic signal.

Abstract: Various technologies pertaining to localizing multiple mobile computing devices in an indoor environment are described. Pairs of microphone arrays are selectively positioned in an indoor environment. A localization service assigns a frequency and schedule to a mobile telephone, and the mobile telephone begins outputting vibrations at the assigned frequency and in conformance with the assigned schedule. The microphone arrays sense the vibrations, and angles between the microphone arrays, respectively, and the mobile computing device are computed based upon the sensed vibrations. Such angles are subsequently employed to compute the location of the mobile computing device in the indoor environment.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed associated with processing origin/location information of a source or event. In one exemplary implementation, there is provided a method of performing improved three-dimensional source location processing including constraint of location solutions to a two-dimensional plane. Moreover, the method includes obtaining a plane of constraint characterized as a plane in which the source is likely to occur, providing one or more virtual sensing elements each characterized as being located on a first side of the plane of constraint in a mirror image/symmetrical position across from a corresponding actual sensing element on an opposite side of the plane, and constraining possible origin locations to be located in the plane of constraint. Other exemplary implementations may include determining the origin location as a function of positions of the sensing elements and the virtual sensing elements as well as time-of-arrival and/or angle-of-arrival information.

Abstract: A method and system for detecting and classifying intruders is provided. A noise threshold can be determined and set based on background noise. A seismic sensor can be configured to receive a plurality of seismic data signals. A microcontroller can be configured to count the number of times the noise threshold is exceeded over a defined time interval by the plurality of seismic data signals, and then detect and classify the presence of an intruder based on the count. Additionally, an amplitude evaluation module can be configured to determine a signal amplitude for the seismic data signals associated with the detected intruder and compare the detected intruder signal amplitude to known signal amplitudes in order to determine a sub-type of the intruder. Finally, a transmission source can be configured to transmit intruder detection and classification information to a remote location.

Abstract: Systems and methods for estimating projectile trajectory and projectile source location are provided. A method for estimating location information associated with a supersonic projectile propelled from a source includes recording sound at a first location using a single microphone during travel of the supersonic projectile to produce an acoustic recording. The method further includes estimating a miss distance between the first location and a trajectory of the projectile based on the shockwave length. Locating a projectile source includes concurrently recording sound at multiple locations and generating data sets associated with the locations, each of the plurality of data sets including a miss distance, a range, a time of arrival of a muzzle blast from the source, and a time of arrival of a shockwave produced by the projectile. Additionally, the method includes calculating an approximate location of the source at each of the locations based on the data sets.

Abstract: The systems and methods described herein relate to an airborne shooter detection system having a plurality of sensors coupled to the body of an aircraft such as a helicopter. The sensors are arranged to receive shockwave-only signals. The received signals are analyzed to determine an unambiguous shooter location. The analysis may include measuring the arrival times of the shockwaves of projectiles at each of the sensors, determining the differences in the arrival times among sensors, computing a set of ambiguous solutions corresponding to a shooter, and clustering this set of solutions to determine the unambiguous shooter location. The systems and methods described herein may also be used to determine if multiple shooters are present, and subsequently determine the shooter locations for each of the multiple shooters.

Abstract: A specific sound is detected from sounds input by a sound input unit, using thresholds for detecting sounds. Images captured by an image capturing unit are recorded. A difference between a recorded image and a current image is calculated, and a location of a moving object is detected from the current image. A correspondence between information indicating a specific position in an image and information indicating sounds that could occur in the specific position is managed. In the case where a moving object is detected, the threshold for detecting a sound is changed, and the specific sound is detected from sounds, using the changed threshold, with reference to the correspondence managed in the position/sound correspondence information management unit.

Abstract: A location system comprises a plurality of transponders whose locations are detectable by a base system. The base system interrogates (51-55) the transponders one at a time in accordance with a schedule of consecutive time slots. In response to a priority request received (53) from one of the transponders, the base system interrupts the schedule and interrogates substantially immediately (56, 57, 55) the signaling transponder so as to determine its location with minimal latency.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for localizing a sound source in real time. The apparatus for localizing a sound source in real time includes a sound signal acquisition unit for acquiring sound signals through two or more channels. A sample delay storage unit stores a plurality of pieces of data, sampled from the sound signals acquired through respective channels, for a predetermined period of time. A correlation calculation unit calculates correlations between the channels from the plurality of pieces of sampled data stored in the sample delay storage unit. A sound source direction calculation unit calculates an azimuth angle of the sound source using both the correlations between the channels and location relationships of the sound signal acquisition unit. Accordingly, the present invention can localize a sound source in real time.

Abstract: An inline inspection system and method for calibrating an acoustic monitoring structure installed along a pipe. The system includes a pipe inspection vehicle; a microprocessor configured to attach a time stamp to a measured distance traveled by the pipe inspection vehicle; an acoustic source attached to the pipe inspection vehicle and configured to generate sound waves inside the pipe, the sound waves having predetermined frequencies and predetermined amplitudes; plural sensors disposed along the pipe and configured to record time of arrivals and intensities of the sound waves generated by the acoustic source; and a processing unit configured to communicate with the plural sensors and receive the time of arrivals, intensities and frequencies of the sound waves from the plural sensors. The processing unit calibrates the acoustic monitoring structure by calculating a distance between the acoustic source and a first sensor of the plural sensors.

Abstract: A wearable shooter localization system including a microphone array, processor, and output device for determining information about a gunshot. The microphone array may be worn by on the upper arm of the user. A second array, which may operate cooperatively or independently from the first array, may be worn on the other arm. The microphone array is sensitive to the acoustic effects of gunfire and provides a set of electrical signals to the processing unit, which identifies the origin of the fire. The system may include orientation and/or motion detection sensors, which the processor may use to either initially compute a direction to the origin of a projectile in a frame of reference meaningful to a wearer of the system or to subsequently update that direction as the wearer moves.

Abstract: A system and a method for a blind direction of arrival estimation is provided for a nonlinear 1-dimensional array of M receivers of J<M unknown signals transmitted through an unknown channel and subject to Gaussian noise. The method overcomes the conditions of that signals be disjoint in the time-frequency domain and/or statistically independent. A likelihood function evaluates a probability for the directions of arrivals. A weighting and regularization scheme selects relevant frequency components. A joint likelihood function of all frequencies is interpreted as a cost or objective function. The time domain is included into the estimation procedure by using a particle filter that operates on the constructed likelihood function and a simple transition kernel for the directions.

Abstract: Techniques and devices are disclosed for utilizing passively received audio signals to determine proximity of devices to other objects. In one embodiment, a method of passive proximity detection is provided that includes sensing a first sound wave using a first audio transducer and generating a first signal representative of the first sound wave. A second sound wave is also sensed and a second signal is generated. The method includes comparing characteristics of the first and second signals using a processor to determine if differences between the first and second signals indicate the first audio transducer is proximately located to another object.

Abstract: A locator system for use in connection with at least one mobile person includes a mobile locator system adapted to be worn by the person, wherein the mobile locator system includes an inertial navigation system. The locator system further includes a reference locator system to provide information about a position of the mobile locator device relative to a coordinate system. In several embodiments, the reference locator system comprises an ultrasonic system. For example, the reference locator system can include at least one ultrasonic transmitter and at least one ultrasonic receiver. One of the at least one ultrasonic receiver and the at least one ultrasonic transmitter can be positioned at a known position on the coordinate system and the other of the at least one ultrasonic receiver and the at least one ultrasonic transmitter can be worn by the person. The reference locator system can also include a plurality of ultrasonic transmitters and a plurality of ultrasonic receivers.

Abstract: This includes systems and methods for accelerometer usage in a wireless headset. An accelerometer can be used to determine the location of a wireless headset. The determined location can be used to control and improve a noise cancellation system. In some embodiments, the determined location can be used in controlling the functions of buttons of the wireless headset. In some embodiments, the accelerometer can further be used to determine when the system is in use. If the system has not been in use for a predetermined amount of time, at least a portion of the wireless headset can be turned off to save power.

Abstract: A controller and navigation system to implement beacon-based navigation and scene-based navigation is described. The navigation system may generate position data for the controller to compensate for a misalignment of the controller relative to the coordinate system of the navigation system. The navigation system may also distinguish between a beacon light source and a non-beacon light source.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus determining a position of a submersible vehicle within a body of water are provided. A method comprises determining an initial position of the vehicle while the vehicle is at or near a water surface. The method further comprises coupling the vehicle and a base node to a weight and determining a position of the base node once the base node and vehicle have reached the floor of the body of water using acoustic modems of the vehicle and a surface vessel to aid in calculating the position as they descend, and acoustically transferring the at rest position on the seafloor from the vehicle to the node. The method further comprises decoupling the vehicle from the node and weight and determining a position of the vehicle based on the position of the base node and acoustic signals exchanged between acoustic modems of the vehicle and the base node.

Abstract: A system and method for continuous detection of impacts on pipelines for fluid transportation, particularly on pipelines placed on the seabed. The system includes at least two sensors each installed in correspondence with an end of a section subject to detection of a pipeline. A first sensor of the at least two sensors is configured to detect first acoustic waves, which propagate along a first transmission phase associated with the pipeline, and a second sensor of the at least two sensors is configured to detect second acoustic waves which propagate along a second transmission phase associated with the pipeline. The second acoustic waves have different elastic features with respect to the first acoustic waves.

Abstract: Methods and transducers for producing acoustical signals having a spiral wavefront with omnidirectional magnitude and a phase that varies with angle and transducers for producing broadband omnidirectional reference signals for underwater navigation and communication.

Abstract: A sound source localization system includes a plurality of microphones for receiving a signal as an input from a sound source; a time-difference extraction unit for decomposing the signal inputted through the plurality of microphones into time, frequency and amplitude using a sparse coding and then extracting a sparse interaural time difference (SITD) inputted through the plurality of microphones for each frequency; and a sound source localization unit for localizing the sound source using the SITDs. A sound source localization method includes receiving a signal as an input from a sound source; decomposing the signal into time, frequency and amplitude using a sparse coding; extracting an SITD for each frequency; and localizing the sound source using the SITDs.

Abstract: A system and method for making an accurate estimate of the activation depth for an impulse acoustic source includes recording sounds produced by the activation of the underwater impulse acoustic source over a time period sufficient to capture reverberation, performing a cepstral scan of the recording to determine a quefrequency corresponding to the impulse from the underwater impulse acoustic source and deriving a depth estimate from the quefrequency corresponding to the impulse from the underwater impulse acoustic source.

Abstract: A method of signal processing includes calculating a range based on information from a reflected ultrasonic signal. Based on the calculated range, one among a plurality of direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation operations is selected. The method also includes performing the selected operation to calculate an estimated direction of arrival (DOA) of an audio-frequency component of a multichannel signal. Examples of DOA estimation operations include operations based on phase differences between channels of the multichannel signal and operations based on a difference in gain between signals that are based on channels of the multichannel signal.

Abstract: In an acoustic wave sensor for detecting a distance to an object and an orientation where the object is located with using acoustic waves, an acoustic wave generating device generating an acoustic wave by applying thermal impact to the air with no mechanical vibration is used as a wave transmitting device, and an electric capacitance microphone converting variation of pressure due to acoustic wave to variation of an electric signal is used as each wave receiving device. Therefore, dead zone caused by reverberation component included in the acoustic wave transmitted from the wave transmitting device and dead zone caused by reverberation component included in wave receiving signals outputted from the wave receiving devices can be shortened and angular sensitivity of the acoustic wave sensor can be increased, in comparison with a conventional acoustic wave sensor using piezoelectric devices as the wave transmitting device and the wave receiving devices.

Abstract: Methods or systems for identifying seismic or acoustic signals of interest originating with moving motorized vehicles or footstep movement or stationary or moving machinery. A related system for monitoring an area includes a plurality of sensing devices each comprising a frame and a piezo-electric sensor element. A monitoring device is coupled to receive information from each of the sensing devices. One method includes providing a processing chain coupled to receive signal data from a sensor device which receives the signals, including a detection stage, a Joint Time Frequency (JTF) domain stage, and a classification stage. The detection stage identifies presence of signals that emerge from the background. The JTF domain stage estimates the state of the signals of interest over time. The classification stage assesses the previously derived information to form a decision about source identity. In one embodiment, the detector stage performs detections on a single cycle basis.

Abstract: Disclosed is a technology for performing a communication using an ultrasonic wave in an environment where an electromagnetic shielding is so severe that a wireless communication using an electromagnetic is difficult. In the environment where the electromagnetic shielding is severe, an ultrasonic terminal according to the present invention may transmit the ultrasonic wave using a solid structure as a medium, and an ultrasonic base station may receive the ultrasonic wave using the solid structure as the medium.

Abstract: A wearable shooter localization system including a microphone array, processor, and output device for determining information about a gunshot. The microphone array may be worn by on the upper arm of the user. A second array, which may operate cooperatively or independently from the first array, may be worn on the other arm. The microphone array is sensitive to the acoustic effects of gunfire and provides a set of electrical signals to the processing unit, which identifies the origin of the fire. The system may include orientation and/or motion detection sensors, which the processor may use to either initially compute a direction to the origin of a projectile in a frame of reference meaningful to a wearer of the system or to subsequently update that direction as the wearer moves.

Abstract: A system and method are provided for monitoring bladder distention. Independently controllable acoustic transmitters are coupled to the surface of a user's abdomen region in a spaced-apart fashion. Each transmitter can introduce a broadband acoustic signal into a portion of the abdomen region. Acoustic receivers are also coupled to the surface of the abdomen region to detect acoustic reflections generated when the acoustic signals are introduced into the abdomen region. A controller is positioned on the user and is correlated to an orientation of the user. The controller stores a profile indicative of anatomical features of the user. The controller initiates periodic activations of selected ones of the transmitters based upon the profile and the orientation of the user. The controller uses a weighted combination of all of the acoustic reflections to determine bladder distention of the user. The weighted combination is defined by at least the profile and orientation of the user.

Abstract: A vehicle presence notification apparatus uses several ultrasonic transducer devices to generate a notice sound by emitting an ultrasonic wave in mid air based on an ultrasonic signal modulated according to an audible sound. At least one of the speaker-use ultrasonic transducer devices is a two-way transducer device that is enabled to perform not only transmission but also reception of an ultrasonic wave. When a vehicle velocity is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the two-way transducer device is caused to function as an ultrasonic sensor. Thus, even when the generation of any notice sound is unnecessary due to the vehicle velocity being fast, the vehicle presence notification apparatus can be used as an ultrasonic sensor to measure a distance with an obstacle outside of the vehicle.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed that detect weapon firing/noise incidents in a region and/or include other related features. According to one or more embodiments, an exemplary method may include detecting acoustic signals from the region by one or more sensors, processing the detected acoustic signals to generate a processed signal, storing the detected acoustic signals with each sensor, and processing the processed signal associated with each sensor to determine if a weapon firing incident occurred. Moreover, exemplary methods may include, if unable to determine whether a weapon firing incident occurred, performing further processing of the acoustic signals and/or determining if a weapon firing incident occurred based upon the stored detected acoustic signals.

Abstract: There is provided a method of tracking an object in a three-dimensional (3-D) space by using particle filter-based acoustic sensors, the method comprising selecting two planes in the 3-D space; executing two-dimensional (2-D) particle filtering on the two selected planes, respectively; and associating results of the 2-D particle filtering on the respective planes.

Abstract: An apparatus and method of voice activity detection (VAD) are disclosed. To detect a target sound, a target sound detecting apparatus calculates the phase difference corresponding to each frequency component from a plurality of sound signals converted in frequency domain, calculates a characteristic value indicating possibility that the phase difference of the frequency component is within an allowable phase difference range of target sound calculated based on a direction angle of the target sound, and detects the presence and/or absence of target sound using the characteristic value.

Abstract: Incoming audio from mobile devices can be centrally processed, where a server can filter background noise in real time, such as by using an XOR function. Instead of discarding the filtered noise, however, it can be processed in parallel to dynamically construct an acoustic map of the environment. The acoustic map can be generated from an aggregation of sound data from multiple devices positioned in a geographic environment. The acoustic map can be linked to a configurable set of rules, conditions, and events, which can cause dynamic adjustments to be made to a workforce task management system. For example, employee availability can be assessed using the acoustic map and workforce tasks can be assigned based in part upon this availability.

Abstract: A subsea measurement system (400) comprises a first reference beacon (110) disposed at a first known location, a second reference beacon (112) disposed at a second known location, and an acoustic communications module (302) for coupling to a subsea element to be monitored. The acoustic communications module (302) is capable of moving, when in use, relative to the first reference beacon (110) and the second reference beacon (112). The acoustic communications module (302) also comprises a processing resource and is arranged to determine first range-related data to the first reference beacon (110) in response to receipt of a first signal by the acoustic communications module (302) from the first reference beacon (110) and second range-related data to the second reference beacon (112) in response to receipt by the acoustic communication module (302) of a second signal from the second reference beacon (112).

Abstract: A mobile communications device contains at least two microphones. One microphone is located away from the handset receiver and serves to pick up voice of a near end user of the device for transmission to the other party during a call. Another microphone is located near the handset receiver and serves to pick up acoustic output of the handset receiver (a far end signal). A signal processor measures the frequency response of the receiver. The signal processor performs spectral analysis of the receiver frequency response to determine whether or not the device is being held at the ear of the user. On that basis, the device automatically changes its operating mode, e.g., turns on or off a touch sensitive display screen during the call. Other embodiments are also described.

Abstract: Methods and systems for determining and utilizing spatial correlative information relating to two or more devices to determine device positioning are described. Using audio signals emitted from stereo speakers, for example, associated with a first device and a microphone associated with the second device, the distance and angle between the two devices and as their relative positions can be determined. No other sensors or specialized accessories are needed on either device to calculate the distance and angles. The devices need only be loaded with the appropriate software which, when executed, is able to carry out steps of the present invention. The usefulness of one or both of the devices may be enhanced by knowing the distance and angle data between the devices. For example, one device may be a TV having stereo speakers and the other device may be a handheld device, such as a smartphone, having a microphone.

Abstract: Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to systems and methods for multimodal object localization using one or more depth sensors and two or more microphones. In one aspect, a method comprises capturing three-dimensional images of a region of space wherein the object is located. The images comprise three-dimensional depth sensor observations. The method collects ambient audio generated by the object, providing acoustic observation regarding the ambient audio time difference of arrival at the audio sensors. The method determines a coordinate location of the object corresponding to the maximum of a joint probability distribution characterizing the probability of the acoustic observations emanating from each coordinate location in the region of space and the probability of each coordinate location in the region of space given depth sensor observations.

Abstract: There is provided a biomimetic robot modelling the highly directional lizard ear. Since the directionality is very robust, the neural processing is very simple. This mobile sound localizing robot can therefore easily be miniaturized. The invention is based on a simple electric circuit emulating the lizard ear acoustics with sound input from two small microphones. The circuit generates a robust directionality around 2-4 kHz. The output of the circuit is fed to a model nervous system. The nervous system model is bilateral and contains a set of band-pass filters followed by simulated EI-neurons that compare inputs from the two ears. This model is implemented in software on a digital signal processor and controls the left and right-steering motors of the robot. Additionally, the nervous system model contains a neural network that can self-adapt so as to auto-calibrate the device.

Abstract: An automated ship detection technique includes accessing data associated with an image of a portion of Earth. The data includes reflectance values. A first portion of pixels within the image are masked with a cloud and land mask based on spectral flatness of the reflectance values associated with the pixels. A given pixel selected from the first portion of pixels is unmasked when a threshold number of localized pixels surrounding the given pixel are not masked by the cloud and land mask. A spatial variability image is generated based on spatial derivatives of the reflectance values of the pixels which remain unmasked by the cloud and land mask. The spatial variability image is thresholded to identify one or more regions within the image as possible ship detection regions.

Abstract: Mapping coherent/incoherent acoustic sources as determined from a phased microphone array. A linear configuration of equations and unknowns are formed by accounting for a reciprocal influence of one or more cross-beamforming characteristics thereof at varying grid locations among the plurality of grid locations. An equation derived from the linear configuration of equations and unknowns can then be iteratively determined. The equation can be attained by the solution requirement of a constraint equivalent to the physical assumption that the coherent sources have only in phase coherence. The size of the problem may then be reduced using zoning methods.