HRTF-based source azimuth estimation and activity detection from a binaural sensor

A theoretically grounded scheme to Direction of Arrival (DOA) estimation and Source Activity Detection (SAD) is proposed, on the basis of a pair of microphones. The method can capture the effects of the robot´s scatterers, if any. The DOA estimator takes place within a probabilistic framework and outputs the Maximum Likelihood Estimate (MLE) of the DOA with respect to the collected audio data. Besides, the SAD relies on statistical identification. The behavior of the estimator is studied under various operating modes, considering free-field propagation and scattering by a rigid spherical head. Experimental results validate the approach.