Develop and Demonstrate Active Sonar Target Motion Analysis

The objective of this Phase I research is to evaluate existing Fleet target motion analysis (TMA) algorithms, and to explore techniques that can be used to enhance performance. The Fleet TMA algorithms process active measurements of range and bearing as observed relative to an ownship moving platform. The techniques which offer significant improvement in solution quality include doppler enhancement, acoustic sensor weighting by SNR, variable averaging periods, overlapping averaging periods, assigning solution qualities, and independent parameter verifications. There is no easy way to incorporate all of the enhancements in any one of the TMA algorithms without changing the basic assumptions that were used to derive each of the TMA algorithms. We propose to modify an existing TMA algorithm that is based on a more general target motion model. This algorithm has been used primarily in a passive environment to do post-exercise reconstruction, but it can also operate in real- time. Within each time window, this algorithm assumes that the target is traveling at constant acceleration and turn rate, rather than constant course and speed. All of the enhancement techniques are already available within this algorithm. This TMA algorithm degenerates to a standard Kalman filter under certain assumptions.