Distributed MIMO sonar for detection of moving targets in shallow sea environments

Abstract

A joint processing framework is proposed for distributed multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) sonar systems to exploit spatial diversity and array gain for detection of moving targets. An extended moving target consisting of multiple scatterers is illuminated by widely-spaced transmitters from different angles to achieve spatial diversity. Target bearing is first estimated with high resolution by the deconvolved conventional beamforming technique. Then a replica correlation integration processor is utilized to estimate the target’s range and speed in a multipath propagation environment. A MIMO detector is designed with the estimated target position parameters and Doppler factor under the generalized likelihood ratio test framework. The effectiveness of the distributed MIMO sonar system has been validated by the localization of two moving targets in sea experiments.