Greedy Sparse Array Design for Optimal Localization under Spatially Prioritized Source Distribution

A common approach for acoustic source localization is based on finding the maximum of a spatial cost function, such as the steered response power (SRP) function. The shape of the SRP highly depends on the constellation of sensors within the array layout, and have a direct impact on the performance. Thus, an array may be designed to produce high localization performance and small error regions, especially when a spatially prioritized source location distribution is taken into account. We introduce a new measure called power spread, which quantifies the localization error region. Then, we propose a greedy algorithm for a sparse array design, aiming to minimize the power spread for optimal error region in a given area of interest. Simulations demonstrate that the proposed design, compared to standard linear array design and random array design, obtains superior performance in terms of power spread and localization error, with a reasonable computational effort.