Features of Bearing on Underwater Object Using Phase Information of a Differential Stereo Sensor
Authors: Shirokov V. A. , Bazhenova A. I. , Milich V. N. 
Published: July 2024

Introduction. Safety of navigation and development of underwater mineral deposits require the accurate detection of various underwater objects. The literature discusses the issues of tracking their motion and trajectory. Sonar methods are proposed to maintain high accuracy of underwater object positioning. High accuracy of the bearing of stereo sensors with an ultrashort base is noted. However, this equipment is sensitive to the sampling rate of the signals, which causes “sampling noise”. There are no publicly available publications dedicated to the solution to this problem. The presented study is designed to fill this gap. This work is aimed to study the possibility of obtaining data clarifying information about the bearing of underwater objects through using the phase information about echoed probing signals and an additional procedure for resampling the source data.

Materials and Methods. The location of the object was determined using the experimental complex for studying hydroacoustic sensors created by V.A. Shirokov and V.N. Milich at the Udmurt Federal Research Center, the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. A stereo sensor with a small base (30 mm) was used compared to the distance to the object (≈800–900 mm). Digital filtering methods and mathematical apparatus of correlation analysis of return hydroacoustic signals obtained by the phase method were used for data processing.

Results. The results of comparing two methods for determining the bearing on an object are presented: by the difference in the time of arrival of the pulse-leading edges and by the maximum of the cross-correlation function (CCF). The change in bearing as the object moves, is graphically shown. The use of the leading edge of the signal caused small outliers of values along the entire bearing curve (less than 0.12 rad). At the maximum CCF, emissions were recorded only in some areas, but they were quite significant (about 0.17 rad). It showed how to select points corresponding to a smoother and more valid object trajectory, and how to work with erroneous points. The presented method of error correction can be implemented programmatically. With a quasi-harmonious signal, rare measurements of the original signal are interpolated by frequent calculated values. Thanks to this virtual increase in the sampling rate (oversampling), intermediate indicators can be recorded in the digitized source data. Interpolation of the signal values by a cubic spline allowed us to obtain 20 points for 1 period of the signal instead of 5 points in the original version. In this case, the trajectory formed with the maximum CCF is more correct.

Discussion and Conclusion. The direction-finding problem can be solved with the accuracy required for practical application. Taking into account the factor of smoothness and continuity of the object's trajectory makes it possible to qualitatively correct the selection of the maximum of the cross-correlation function of the stereo sensor signals. The proposed methods have great potential for the development of underwater vision systems.