DOA-Estimation based on a Complex Watson Kernel Method

This contribution presents a Direction of Arrival (DoA) estimation algorithm based on the complex Watson distribution to incorporate both phase and level differences of captured micro- phone array signals. The derived algorithm is reviewed in the context of the Generalized State Coherence Transform (GSCT) on the one hand and a kernel density estimation method on the other hand. A thorough simulative evaluation yields insight into parameter selection and provides details on the performance for both directional and omni-directional microphones. A comparison to the well known Steered Response Power with Phase Transform (SRP-PHAT) algorithm and a state of the art DoA estimator which explicitly accounts for aliasing, shows in particular the advantages of presented algorithm if inter-sensor level differences are indicative of the DoA, as with directional microphones.