Maritime security laboratory for maritime security research

Stevens Institute of Technology has established a new Maritime Security Laboratory (MSL) to facilitate advances in methods and technologies relevant to maritime security. MSL is designed to enable system-level experiments and data-driven modeling in the complex environment of an urban tidal estuary. The initial focus of the laboratory is on the threats posed by divers and small craft with hostile intent. The laboratory is, however, evolvable to future threats as yet unidentified. Initially, the laboratory utilizes acoustic, environmental, and video sensors deployed in and around the Hudson River estuary. Experimental data associated with boats and SCUBA divers are collected on a computer deployed on board a boat specifically designed and equipped for these experiments and are remotely transferred to a Visualization Center on campus. Early experiments utilizing this laboratory have gathered data to characterize the relevant parameters of the estuary, acoustic signals produced by divers, and water and air traffic. Hydrophones were deployed to collect data to enable the development of passive acoustic methodologies for maximizing SCUBA diver detection distance. Initial results involving characteristics of the estuary, acoustic signatures of divers, ambient acoustic noise in an urban estuary, and transmission loss of acoustic signals in a wide frequency band are presented. These results can also be used for the characterization of abnormal traffic and improvement of underwater communication in a shallow water estuary.