Tomographic reconstruction of indoor spatial temperature distributions using room impulse responses

Temperature can be estimated by acoustic travel time measurements along known sound paths. By using a multitude of known sound paths in combination with a tomographic reconstruction technique a spatial and temporal resolution of the temperature field can be achieved. Based on it, this article focuses on an experimental method in order to determine the spatially differentiated development of room temperature with only one loudspeaker and one microphone. The theory of geometrical room acoustics is being used to identify sound paths under consideration of reflections. The travel time along a specific sound path is derived from the room impulse response. Temporal variances in room impulse response can be attributed primarily to a change in air temperature and airflow. It is shown that in the absence of airflow a 3D acoustic monitoring of the room temperature can be realized with a fairly limited use of hardware.