Advanced Forward Looking Sonar for Unmanned Vehicles

This Phase I proposal is to establish the feasibility of developing an advanced technology forward looking sonar to enhance the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) mission capabilities for unmanned underwater vehicles. The proposed approach will combine a proven model-based array signal processing technique along with an innovative, flexible, array-based sonar electronics architecture to provide an FLS core technology capable of providing wide field-of-view, three-dimensional acoustic images of the seafloor and water column while consuming less power and physical space than existing 2D obstacle avoidance sonars. The approach will use spatial modeling to construct an image by explicitly computing plane wave arrival angles and amplitudes as a function of range from the sonar, thus enabling the computation of the vertical location of received echoes. During Phase I we will conceptually design an FLS sonar to the unmanned vehicle requirements, use theoretical analysis aided by experiments to validate the concept, identify the performance limitations, and specify a prototype to be developed in Phase II. The anticipated benefits of the Phase I and II development is availability of a prototype sonar practical for use on unmanned vehicle platforms to enhance their ISR mission requirements. The prototype will also serve as a versatile core platform that can be used in a broad variety of other underwater vehicle imaging applications. Potential applications include use on a wide range of commercial and military UUV's and ROV's involved in obstacle avoidance and/or bathymetric mapping/charting.