Acoustic Sensor Simulation and Environment Technology

A quality simulation which allows a user to simulate the acoustic emissions in a multi-source environment and then study the effects these conditions have on a set of acoustic sensors would be of great value. As acoustic sensors technology continues to advance with robust algorithms for detection, tracking and identification as well as high performance hardware providing real-time operation, these technological advances cause the incidence of employing acoustic sensors on the battlefield to increase. A simulation would provide a mechanism for trade-offs and performance comparisons under many battlefield scenarios for acoustic sensors being developed. The simulation could answer questions related to detection ranges, and optimal offensive conditions. The optimal sensor configuration could be determined by having the model interactively change sensor position and coverage while keeping track of the detection statistics. Samples of other military uses included tracking performance as a function of vehicle separation, the effects of reducing vehicle noise levels and the degradation of acoustic sensor performance as a function of the meteorological conditions and acoustic countermeasures. This simulation will also provide a platform to determine the sources of identification and tracking errors. Weaknesses and strengths of sensor systems may be determined by varying the environment parameters. TAI proposes under the SBIR proposal to develop a simulation,l relying heavily upon simulation components and data developed previously by experts in the field and from authoritative sources, that incorporates targets/sources, environment, and sensors, including smart sensors for the] study of performance issues relating to non-cooperative acoustic sensor technology . The Acoustic Sensor Simulation Environment Technology (ASSET) Workstation will be developed and provided with a graphical user interface and analytical tools for workstation-based study of acoustics.