Simultaneous Localization and Acoustic Tomography Estimation (SLATE)

Signal Systems Corporation (SSC) will focus on using acoustic tomography to robustly improve sound speed estimates of the ocean during future multistatic search missions for Air ASW. The SLATE approach leverages concurrent buoy localization and acoustic tomography for mission effectiveness. SSC will utilize the state-of-the-art Buoy Localization and Uncertainty Estimation (BLUE) buoy state estimation algorithms and extend them to accept acoustic tomographic derived source to receiver effective horizontal sound speeds in on-going updates over the mission duration. SSC uses Bayesian techniques to sequentially derive the best prior Sound Speed Profile (SSP) field for tomography, while incorporating Airborne eXpendable Bathy Thermograph (AXBT) information and sonobuoy location error estimates generated by BLUE algorithms. In order to estimate acoustic arrival times accurately and associate them with predictions, SSC personnel will utilize advanced multipath extraction algorithms coupled with data association techniques that are optimized to operate in clutter.