System and method for detecting aerial vehicle position and velocity via sound

A method of determining a position and a velocity of a signal source, comprising:

• obtaining a plurality of audio signals from a primary microphone array arranged at a first location of a moving platform;
• obtaining a noise audio signal from a secondary microphone arranged at a second location of the moving platform, the first location and the second location being at opposing sides of the moving platform;
• generating a plurality of processed audio signals by subtracting the noise audio signal from each of the plurality of audio signals;
• identifying, from the plurality of processed audio signals, a first set of processed audio signals and a second set of processed audio signals that match an audio signature of the signal source according to characteristics associated with the audio signature, the characteristics associated with the audio signature including a number of signature peaks in the audio signature, intensities of the signature peaks in the audio signature, and shift distances of detected peaks in the set of processed audio signals respectively from corresponding ones of the signature peaks in the audio signature;
• conducting a frequency estimation on the first set of audio signals;
• determining a first signal direction of the signal source based on the first set of audio signals;
• conducting a frequency estimation on the second set of audio signals;
• determining a second signal direction of the signal source based on the second set of audio signals;
• determining whether the signal source is approaching or moving away from a detection position by performing a Doppler analysis of the first and second sets of audio signals;
• determining the position and the velocity of the signal source based on the Doppler analysis, a direction analysis, and an intensity analysis;
• and
• determining whether the signal source is on a collision course with the moving platform according to the position and the velocity of the signal source.

An acoustic sensing system, comprising:

• a housing of a moving platform;
• a primary microphone array positioned at a first location of the housing and comprising a plurality of microphones;
• a secondary microphone positioned at a second location of the housing and being operably connected to the primary microphone array, the first location and the second location being at opposing sides of the housing;
• and
• a processing device configured to:
• obtain a plurality of audio signals from the primary microphone array;
• obtain a noise audio signals from the secondary microphone;
• generate a plurality of processed audio signals by subtracting the noise audio signal from each of the plurality of the audio signals;
• identify, from the plurality of processed audio signals, a set of processed audio signals that match an audio signature of the signal source according to characteristics associated with the audio signature, the characteristics associated with the audio signature including a number of signature peaks in the audio signature, intensities of the signature peaks in the audio signature, and shift distances of detected peaks in the set of processed audio signals respectively from corresponding ones of the signature peaks in the audio signature;
• determine a position and a velocity of the signal source based on a direction analysis and an intensity analysis of the set of processed audio signals associated with the signal source, and
• determine whether the signal source is on a collision course with the moving platform according to the position and the velocity of the signal source.