Apparatus and method for estimating direction of sound by using acoustic sensor

A direction estimating apparatus using an acoustic sensor, the direction estimating apparatus comprising:

• an omni-directional acoustic sensor;
• a plurality of directional acoustic sensors provided adjacent to the omni-directional acoustic sensor, the plurality of directional acoustic sensors comprising a first directional acoustic sensor and a second directional acoustic sensor;
• and
• a processor configured to:
• obtain a first output signal from the omni-directional acoustic sensor and a plurality of second output signals from the plurality of directional acoustic sensors, the plurality of second output signals comprising a first second output signal from the first directional acoustic sensor and a second second output signal from the second directional acoustic sensor;
• and
• estimate a direction of a sound source within an error range from −5 degrees to +5 degrees based on a comparison of a first magnitude of the first second output signal and a second magnitude of the second second output signal and based on phase information between the first output signal and one of the plurality of second output signals.