US Patent 7130797 Robust talker localization in reverberant environment

A method of locating a talker in a reverberant environment comprises receiving multiple audio signals from a microphone array that include direct path audio signal and reverberation signal components. The direct path audio signal components of the multiple audio signals are detected and are used to weight the multiple audio signals. A position estimate based on the weighted audio signals is then calculated. Periods of speech activity are detected and a final position estimate is generated during the periods of speech activity.