Shooter Localization with a Microphone Array Based on a Linearly Modeled Bullet Speed

This paper addresses the problem of shooter localization using a single microphone array. Muzzle blast and shock wave are the two impulsive sounds generated by a projectile moving at supersonic speed. If a microphone array measures both sound waves, the shooter state in terms of shooter position and firing direction can be determined. Often, the projectile velocity is assumed to be constant. In this paper, the bullet speed is approximated by a linear model. For this model, an estimator of the shooter state is proposed and the corresponding Cramér-Rao bound is derived. Both cases with and without consideration of the deceleration are studied in Monte Carlo simulations and compared with the corresponding Cramér-Rao bound. The simulation results reveal that a superior state estimation accuracy can be achieved by using the considered projectile model.