Shooter localization using microphone arrays on elevated platforms

This paper discusses a technique to estimate the position of a sniper using spatial array located on a raised platforms. Shooter location is estimated from topographic information of the area and the direction of arrival (DoA) of the gunshot signal; in particular, its component produced by the explosion in the barrel of the gun, known as muzzle blast. The direction of arrival is based on the time differences at which the sound wavefront arrives at each microphone; these differences are estimated from the Generalized Cross Correlation (GCC) using phase transform. The terrain profile is drawn using the contour lines of a digital map. The DoA estimation and the terrain profile allowed assessing the position of the sniper. In addition, a new approach to improve the estimation of the DoA from a cognitive selection of microphones is presented. In this proposed technique, the microphones selected must form a consistent key loop (sum of delays equal to zero). The results obtained after processing signals recorded in a real situation show the effectiveness of the proposed method.