Handheld Sonar Intercept Receiver for Divers

Navy divers face ever increasing risk of encountering diver detection sonar systems during missions. With the growing commercial market of diver detection systems there exists a need for portable devices that alert a diver to the presence of high frequency or ultrasonic acoustic transmissions in the vicinity of operation. A unique diver interface to such system must be developed to support the diver operations. To make the system effective, bearing and frequency estimates of the acoustic transmission are provided under a variety of operational scenarios. Both visual and audible warnings provided to the diver will enable real-time adjustments in routes to mitigate the vulnerability risk. Our innovative hand-held receiver packaging approach provides the ability to monitor the system without adding significant hardware to the diver. The operator interface features an intuitive solution that function under extreme in-water situations. Signal Processing must achieve high sensitivity with low false alarm rates, therefore full spectrum; spectral redundant based signal processing techniques need to be considered to enhance detection and bearing estimates within limited space/weight/volume allocations. Progeny’s understanding of the acoustic intercept problem is critical to developing a low false alarm solution to this problem.