Advanced Doppler Processing

"An integrated probabilistic data association (IPDA) tracker will be exploited in a towed array sonar context to provide detection capability in the near zero Doppler region where heavy clutter/reverberation predominates. Detection will occur as a result ofthe tracker's ability to effectively measure the consistency of kinematics of a moving object with large inertia. This capability will be enhanced in the proposed system by agility of the sonar configuration: pulse repetition interval (PRI), waveform, andtransmit and receive beampatterns are selected at each epoch to best discriminate between the clutter/reverberation and potential target according to an estimate of the environment provided in association with the IPDA tracker. The system will permitoperator intervention including full manual over-ride. Anticipated Benefits: Detection and tracking, based on the IPDA methodology, of slow moving underwater targets in heavy low velocity clutter/reverberation; Algorithms to choose the sonar configurationto optimally exploit the environment; A library of waveforms and beamshapes optimized to the underwater environment. Potential Commercial Applications: The methodology developed here will have security applications both in the military and private sectors.It will transfer to a radar system, to be used to detect movements of humans and ground vehicles in heavily cluttered environments. In this context, it will produce enhanced detection