Three-Dimensional Ultrasound Imaging in Air using a 2D Array on a Fixed Platform

Acoustic imaging has been used in a variety of applications, but its use in air has been limited due to the slow propagation of sound and high attenuation. We address the problem of ultrasound imaging of a scene in air with a 2D array under the constraint of a fixed platform. The presented system uses a single transmit pulse combined with a Capon beamformer at the receiving array under a near-field model to obtain three-dimensional images of a scene. Results from experiments conducted in a laboratory demonstrate that it is possible to detect position and edge information from which an object can be reconstructed.