Determination of the adequate measurement window for sound source localization in echoic environments

A method for sound source localization, comprising the steps of:

• receiving an aural signal by at least one microphone;
• computing an envelope of said aural signal;
• performing a non-linear, onset preserving smoothing of said envelopes to generate a smooth envelope, the smooth envelope set to a value of the envelope
• except where the envelope changes from a rising phase to a falling phase, the smooth envelope is set to the value of the envelope multiplied by an inhibition factor, and
• except where a previous value of the smooth envelope is greater than the envelope, the smooth envelope is set to decay from the previous value based on a time constant;
• evaluating cues for sound source localization, using measurement points from the smooth envelope, where measurement points are where said smoothing envelope changes from a rising phase to a falling phase;
• and
• localizing a point of origin of the aural signal based upon said cues.