High resolution array signal processing for AUVs

Future successful operations conducted with autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) will include several mission functions that will rely heavily on high performance, high resolution forward looking sonars (FLS) coupled with high performance embedded signal processors. These mission functions include object detection, localization and classification (DLC), sea bottom mapping and feature extraction for navigation guidance and control and obstacle avoidance. This paper will describe the efforts associated with both the high-resolution array (HRA) currently under development at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) in Newport, RI and the unmanned underwater vehicle signal processor (UUVSP) currently under joint development by the Sanders Division of Lockheed Martin Corporation and NUWC. The HRA, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, is a 1272 element, 20 wavelength planar array designed for use as a forward looking sonar in 21-inch diameter vehicles. The HRA combines an 80 degree horizontal by 40 degree vertical transmit beam, for full volume coverage, with steerable three degree receive beams. The UUVSP, sponsored by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), is an embedded signal processor based on ARPA´s high performance scalable computing (HPSC) technology. A 24 giga-floating point operation (GFLOP) unit (scalable to 256 GFLOPs) designed to fit in a 21-inch diameter vehicle will be demonstrated in the first quarter of fiscal year 1998