An acoustic camera is an imaging device that is used to both locate sound sources and to characterise them. It generally consists of a microphone array and an optical camera whose data is simultaneously acquired to give a representation of the location of the sound sources. The most popular method to obtain an acoustic image is to use beamforming whereby microphone signals are delayed relatively and added, with the signal coming from a specific direction being amplified while signals coming from other directions are cancelled.
Alternatively, particle velocity techniques can be used for localising sound sources on any type of object; from small hearing aids to large gas turbines. This technique provides you with high spatial resolution sound maps, over a broad frequency range and with an incredible dynamic range.
