Target Impact Location Determination: An Analytic Method

This thesis constructs and implements a model for 2-dimensional impact location determination and applies it to a simple experimental setup. In seeking a versatile solution, only minimal data is used to determine the impact location. In practice, this includes sound waveform data collected by microphones and the location of the microphones themselves. Using this data, the time of arrival (TOA) of the sound can be computed. Then, using TOAs from multiple microphones, time deltas, known as time differences of arrival (TDOAs), can be found. Equipped with TDOAs and the locations of the microphones, hyperbolae can be constructed and intersected to determine the sound’s point of origin. Strikingly, hyperbola construction and intersection proved to be simple to define and implement. Instead, the generation of TOAs and choosing a final point of origin proved to be much more sophisticated problems; the results of which further reinforced the importance of choosing accurate TDOAs. It was found that location determination had varying degrees of success, with the best results found near the center of the experimental apparatus where all microphones are roughly equidistant. Finally, ideas are discussed for further enhancement and areas needing additional iteration.