Patent ID: 7190635

Claim:
A method for determining the location of a vibrating target, the method comprising the steps of: transmitting at least three optical signals substantially simultaneously to contact a surface of interest that is receiving a vibration from a vibrating target, wherein each of the three optical signals contacts the surface at each of three contact locations, each of the three contact locations separated from each of the other contact locations by a known distance and direction; receiving at least three backreflected optical signals from the surface of interest, each backreflected optical signal corresponding to each of the at least three transmitted optical signals; sensing the acoustic vibration signal in each of the at least three backreflected optical signals; measuring a plurality of delay intervals for a common acoustic signature received from the acoustic vibration signal sensed at each of the plurality of locations on the surface of interest; and determining the location of a vibrating target through cross-correlation of the acoustic vibration signal sensed at each of the plurality of locations and triangulation of the plurality of measured delay intervals.