Fast estimation of direction of arrival based on sparse Bayesian learning for towed array sonar during manoeuvring

Abstract

Abstract For improving performance of the towed array sonar during the manoeuvring period, a processing framework is proposed based on joint estimation of direction of arrival (DOA) and the array shape. The sparse Bayesian learning (SBL) algorithm is utilised to accurately estimate the DOAs of interesting targets. Meanwhile, the towed array shape is modelled as a parabola array, and the array element positions are estimated using the bow of the parabola. Then, an approximate posterior covariance is implemented to the SBL for a fast converging speed required by practical applications. Besides, the co‐prime array structure is considered for the uniform linear array to further reduce the computational load. The numerical simulations have verified the effectiveness of the fast converging SBL method. MAPEX2000 experimental data processing results have shown that the proposed framework performs well in detection of weak targets during slow turns.

Keywords

• acoustic signal detection
• acoustic signal processing
• direction‐of‐arrival estimation