Mapping sound emitting structures in 3D

This paper presents a framework for creating a 3D map of an environment that contains the probability of a geometric feature to emit a sound. The goal is to provide an automated tool for condition monitoring of plants. The map is created by a mobile platform equipped with a microphone array and laser range sensors. The microphone array is used to estimate the sound power received from different directions whereas the laser range sensors are used for estimating the platform pose in the environment. During navigation, a ray casting method projects the audio measurements made onboard the mobile platform to the map of the environment. Experimental results show that the created map is an efficient tool for sound source localization.