CORtical Noise Estimation and Removal

The Surface Ship Torpedo Defense (SSTD) system consists of three components: the Torpedo Warning System (TWS), the Countermeasure Anti-Torpedo (CAT), and the AN/SLQ-25 NIXIE countermeasure. The CAT consists of the Anti-Torpedo Torpedo (ATT) and the All-Up Round Equipment. The SSTD can launch multiple ATT hard-kill countermeasures to engage multiple incoming threat torpedoes based on target information supplied by the TWS. However, acoustic noise from the lead ATT in such a salvo situation blinds the other ATTs until it terminates on its target, thus delaying their acquisition of the other threats. The team of In-Depth Engineering Corporation and the Applied Research Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University propose a solution to the ATT noise problem called COrtical Noise Estimation and Removal (CORNER). CORNER implements a model of the primary auditory cortex of the mammalian brain to identify and remove the acoustic signature of the lead ATT in a leader-follower scenario. The algorithm mimics the ability of mammals to tune their acoustic receptive fields in order to attend to one sound over other competing sounds. In addition to noise removal, the CORNER algorithms can also be trained as an automated acoustic classifier to recognize the signature of the threat torpedo.