In this paper, we propose a method to estimate the proximity of an acoustic reflector, e.g., a wall, using ego-noise, i.e., the noise produced by the moving parts of a listening robot. This is achieved by estimating the times of arrival of acoustic echoes reflected from the surface. Simulated experiments show that the proposed nonintrusive approach is capable of accurately estimating the distance of a reflector up to 1 meter and outperforms a previously proposed intrusive approach under loud ego-noise conditions. The proposed method is helped by a probabilistic echo detector that estimates whether or not an acoustic reflector is within a short range of the robotic platform. This preliminary investigation paves the way towards a new kind of collision avoidance system that would purely rely on audio sensors rather than conventional proximity sensors.

翻译：在本文中,我们提出一种方法来估计声反射器的近距离,例如使用自我噪声的墙壁,即听觉机器人移动部分产生的噪音,这是通过估计从表面反射的声回声到达时间实现的。模拟实验表明,拟议的非侵扰性方法能够准确估计反射器1米以下的距离,在响亮的自我噪声条件下,优于先前提议的侵扰性方法。提议的方法是由一个概率性回声探测器帮助的,该探测器估计声反射器是否在机器人平台的短短范围内。这一初步调查为建立新型的避免碰撞系统铺平了道路,该系统将完全依靠音频传感器,而不是传统的近距离传感器。