METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR LOCALIZATION OF AN ACOUSTIC SOURCE

An acoustic signal processing method and system using a pair of spatially separated microphones to obtain the direction or location of speech or other acoustic signals from a common sound source is disclosed. The invention includes a method and apparatus for processing the acoustic signals by determining whether signals acquired during a particular time frame represent the onset or beginning of a sequence of acoustic signals from the sound source, identifying acoustic received signals representative of the sequence of signals, and determining the direction of the source based upon the acoustic received signals. The invention has applications to videoconferencing where it may be desirable to automatically adjust a video camera, such as by aiming the camera in the direction of a person who has begun to speak.