Real-time loudspeaker distance estimation with stereo audio

Knowledge on how a number of loudspeakers are positioned relative to a listening position can be used to enhance the listening experience. Usually, these loudspeaker positions are estimated using calibration signals, either audible or psycho-acoustically hidden inside the desired audio signal. In this paper, we propose to use the desired audio signal instead. Specifically, we treat the case of estimating the distance between two loudspeakers playing back a stereo music or speech signal. In this connection, we develop a real-time maximum likelihood estimator and demonstrate that it has a variance in the millimetre range in a real environment for even a modest sampling frequency.