Process / pipelineSignal processing, Spatial filtering

Beamforming

Beamforming is a spatial signal processing technique that uses microphone arrays to selectively enhance sound from a desired direction while suppressing sounds from other directions. Formalized by Van Veen and Buckley in 1988, beamforming is fundamental to hands-free speech communication, hearing aids, sonar, radar, and spatial audio recording. It enables 'listening' with directional sensitivity despite using omnidirectional microphones, by exploiting time delays and phase differences between array elements.

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Sources

  1. Van Veen, B. D., & Buckley, K. M. (1988). Beamforming: A versatile approach to spatial filtering. IEEE ASSP Magazine, 5(2), 4–24. DOI: 10.1109/53.665
  2. Brandstein, M., & Ward, D. (2001). Microphone Arrays: Signal Processing Techniques and Applications. Springer-Verlag. ISBN: 978-3540419013
  3. Krim, H., & Viberg, M. (1996). Two decades of array signal processing research. IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, 13(4), 67–94. DOI: 10.1109/79.526899

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Referenced by

ScholarGateBeamforming (Acoustic Beamforming and Directional Microphone Arrays). Retrieved 2026-06-04 from https://scholargate.app/en/acoustics/beamforming