  In this paper we present a new robust sound source localization and tracking
method using an array of eight microphones (US patent pending) . The method
uses a steered beamformer based on the reliability-weighted phase transform
(RWPHAT) along with a particle filter-based tracking algorithm. The proposed
system is able to estimate both the direction and the distance of the sources.
In a videoconferencing context, the direction was estimated with an accuracy
better than one degree while the distance was accurate within 10% RMS. Tracking
of up to three simultaneous moving speakers is demonstrated in a noisy
environment.
