Models of Sound Localization

Sound Source Localization (2005), pp. 272-316. The process of extracting information about the locations of acoustic sources from the characteristics of two sound pressure waveforms has been addressed from several points of view. A signal-processing approach considers the problem to be estimation of unknown parameters with partial information available about the signal and the environment’s transformation of the signal. A physiological approach considers the mechanisms of signal transduction and recoding through the cochlea, brainstem, midbrain, and cortex. A psychophysical approach provides measures of human performance and relates abilities to the characteristics of the signals and the environment. These three approaches are all informed by the physical acoustics of the environment and of the effects of the head and body on the received signals.