A Beamforming, Acoustic Target Tracking and Classification System

Operation of heavy equipment results in the generation of high sound levels. These sounds (exhaust from diesel or turbine engines, clatter of vehicle parts and cargo, movement of joints, etc.), when taken together result in a characteristic acoustic signature. Depending on terrain and environmental conditions this sound may carry several kilometers. This unintentional noise offers an opportunity for tactical exploitation. A variety of information can be extracted from the acoustic signature including relative bearing, course, speed, and vehicle type. Providing this information to field commanders would provide an invaluable aid to mission performance. Use of beamforming techniques for signal collection allows several advantages over other techniques including formation of many independent beams, refocusing without physical movement, and interference control. The extensive information content in the acoustic signature can be extracted using pattern classification techniques such as neural networks. Using beamforming and pattern classification techniques, a Phase I program is proposed that will analyze acoustic signature information to generate detailed target related information. The proposed efforts would implement and deliver a signal exploitation system providing field commanders with acoustic target bearing tracking and vehicle identification information and support operator signal analysis by means of a set of signal analysis tools.