Markov chain-based temporal correlation processing algorithm in reverberant environment by sparse Bayesian learning for acoustic imaging

Identifying sound sources is an important step in noise control, different sound source localization algorithms have been proposed and studied for almost a century. Most of the studies assume an ideal measurement environment, i.e., an anechoic or half-anechoic environment, but there are limited studies discussing localizing sound sources in a reverberation environment. This paper proposes an acoustic imaging method in a reverberation environment based on the sparse Bayesian learning framework. Initially, a sound propagation model was established by accounting for the multipath effects of the sound source in a reverberant environment. Based on the temporal correlation of a Markov chain, the algorithm is further improved in the sparse Bayesian learning framework. By leveraging the temporal correlation the algorithm provides, identifying the true source in a reverberant environment becomes more accurate. Numerical simulation results have shown that the proposed algorithm achieves real sound source localization and eliminates the influence of image sources in contour maps under realistic reverberant environments.