An integrated array element localization system

Abstract

An array element localization (AEL) system has been developed in which received high frequency (HF) transponder signals are integrated into the array serial data stream at low frequency, maintaining system accuracy and consistency with other array sensors. The AEL receivers positioned along a vertical acoustic array, detect arriving HF pulses, and convert the travel time information into an analog voltage which is indistinguishable from the other array data being transmitted, increasing array design flexibility. During experiments conducted from the arctic ice pack in the spring of 1992 and 1994, localization pulses were transmitted sequentially from five ice-mounted transducers at surveyed locations. Receiver data from the 1992 experiment show a minimum RMS error in sensor location of less that 0.9 m and correlate with the tidal component of independently measured water currents. Results from the 1994 experiment are presented. >