Signal detectors for deformable hydrophone arrays

Passive signal detection using a deformable hydrophone array, in which the position of each sensor deviates randomly from a nominal or estimated location, is examined. A general detector, which adds the power of R arbitrary linear combinations of all hydrophone outputs, is proposed. This configuration permits division of the array into arbitrary sections or partitions. When a single section is used, the detector reduces to the standard form used with no uncertainty. Linear filters in the processor are chosen to optimize the deflection criterion. Using the same criterion, performance of optimal and several suboptimal detectors is examined as a function of uncertainty variance. Numerical results presented for a large planar array confirm the existence of practical detectors that are nearly optimal and clearly superior to the standard detector in this application