Experimental result for direction of arrival (DOA) estimation using under water acoustic vector sensor.

Abstract

Acoustic vector sensor measures scalar acoustic pressure along with acoustic particle motion in three orthogonal directions. A single acoustic vector sensor provides information about the source direction than a scalar hydrophone. Thus acoustic vector sensors are widely used for many underwater acoustic applications. In this study an indigenously developed acoustic vector sensor array has been used to determine the direction of arrival in a controlled environment. Experiment has been conducted for different frequencies (1-6 kHz) and based on conventional beamforming technique DOA of the source was calculated. The experiment was repeated by changing the orientation of the vector sensor along different azimuthal directions at specific frequencies. The results obtained from the beamformer output compares well with the known source direction along the azimuth. The study clearly shows the application of underwater vector sensor in source localization and target tracking.