Design of a collisonless underwater acoustic network

Abstract

A hardware solution for a collisonless underwater acoustic networks is proposed in this paper. Each node will be equipped with a horizontal circular array, by which signals from different sources located at different look directions, or bearings, will be extracted by beamforming with little interference from signals from sources at other directions. Based on simulations (T. C. Yang, "Performance analysis of superdirectivity of circular arrays and implications for sonar systems," IEEE J. Oceanic Eng., 10.1109/JOE.2018.2801144) and some laboratory data, signals from different bearings are found well separated using a technology called superdirective array, which provides high resolution in bearing estimation, high directivity index or array gain, and strong interference rejection compared with conventional beamforming.