Battlefield Target Localization Using Acoustic Vector Sensors and Distributed Processing

We deriv eand analyze fast wideband algorithms for locating airborne targets using a passiv e acoustic sensor system. The system consists of a distributed array of a small, lightweight acoustic vector sensors, either located in xed positions on the battle eld or carried by individual soldiers. These sensors measure the acoustic pressure and all three components of particle velocity at a single point | the use of such sensors, which have numerous advan tages o ver traditional pressure sensors, has recently become possible with the development of a new air-based particle velocity sensor now available commercially. We deriv e a bearing-only estimator based on estimation of the acoustic intensity vector applicable to single vector sensor. The estimator provides a local estimate of target bearing without the need for in ter-sensor communication, which is useful if the sensor is carried by a battle eld unit, for example.. We then develop a 3-D location estimator by combining the local bearing estimates at a central processor. We also calculate an optimal performance measure for the local bearing based on the Cram er-Rao bound and use it to assess the full potential of our distributed array concept and the e ciency of our algorithms. Numerical simulations are used to show the e ectiveness of our solutions. This w orkw as supported by the Air Force O ce of Scienti c Researc hunder Grants F49620-97-1-0481 and F49620-99-1-0067, the National Science Foundation under Grant MIP-9615590 and the O ce of Naval Researc h under Grant N00014-98-1-0542. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.