As the use of commercially available diver detection systems becomes more widespread, Navy divers will face a greater risk of being detected while conducting clandestine operations. If a diver is conducting an operation in enemy waters where an active diver detection system is employed, the entire mission can fail and lives can be lost if he is detected. What is needed is a portable system that can detect the active system and provide bearing information to the diver before he is detected. AAC proposes to develop a portable diver acoustic intercept system that can detect high-frequency active emissions, provide bearing, and potentially provide signal strength and frequency information as well. This information will be provided on an intuitive display that will be designed to be as small as possible, with the end goal being a display that leaves the divers hands free. The entire system, including high-frequency hydrophones, processing electronics, and power source, will be compact and easy to implement on a diver. Because of the systems small size, it will readily be applicable to UUVs and SDVs.
Benefit: The proposed portable diver acoustic intercept system will provide the needed advanced warning that a diver conducting a mission is coming within range of an active detection system. Because active diver detection systems are subject to two-way acoustic path loss, the diver will be able to detect the presence of the active system before the active system detects the return off of the diver, allowing him to safely change course and move away from the source. Having information about the source strength and frequency can help the diver make critical decisions when there are multiple sources present. This technology can easily be transitioned to Seal Delivery Vehicles (SDVs) and Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) due to its compact and low-power design. The system can be implemented on SDVs with very little modification. On UUVs, the system would need to integrate its display messages with the operators control system.
Keywords: DSP, DSP, Diver detection, On-Sensor Processing, Sonar, Signal processing, acoustic intercept
